Using HTML Forms

This document describes the interactive components of HTML forms. These may include:

text fields

password fields

checkbox buttons

Following is a brief description of each feature, along with an example of its use.

You can check out the form support documentation written by the people at NCSA.

Summary of HTML Features

text fields

To fill in a text field, move the cursor into the field and begin typing. The box will scroll if your response is longer than the box can display.

sizes and shapes but they all work the same.
password fields

Password fields act the same as text fields, except that the text you enter is not shown (convenient for credit card numbers, secret messages and, of course, passwords.) For instance, this box contains the key to happiness:
checkbox buttons

The checkbox button indicates a non-exclusive choice. You may select as many choices as apply. For example, YES and NO have been selected from the following list:

YES
NO
MAYBE
radio buttons

The radio button indicates an exclusive choice; only one choice may be selected. For instance, YES has been selected below. If you select NO, YES will automatically be unselected.

YES
NO
MAYBE
selection menus

Like checkbox and radio buttons, selection menus present a list of options to choose from, although in a different form. Some selection menus (like the one above) allow you to choose only one option, some (like the one below) allow you to choose any number of options.
reset buttons

Reset buttons change the form back to its original state, removing all changes made to it. Reset buttons can be called anything, but they all do the same thing.
submit buttons

Submit buttons do just that: submit the contents of the form to wherever the form creator desires.
If you select one of the buttons on this example form, you'll see the values of the form variables displayed on a new page.
It is only when this button is selected that the information on the form is registered. Like reset buttons, submit buttons can have various names.