From http://www.w3schools.com (Copyright Refsnes Data)

HTML 5 <form> tag

Definition and Usage

The form element creates a form for user input. A form can contain textfields, checkboxes, radio-buttons and more. Forms are used to pass user-data to a specified URL.

Differences Between HTML 4.01 and HTML 5

HTML 5 has some new attributes, and some HTML 4.01 attributes are no longer supported.

HTML 5 has a new attribute: replace. Which defines what to do after a for has been submitted.

Example

Source Output
<form action="form_action.asp"
method="get">

First name:
<input type="text" name="fname" value="Mickey" />
<br />
Last name:
<input type="text" name="lname" value="Mouse" />
<br />
<input type="submit" value="Submit" />

</form>

<p>
If you click the "Submit" button, you will send your input to a new page called form_action.asp.
</p>
First name:
Last name:

If you click the "Submit" button, you will send your input to a new page called form_action.asp.


Attributes

Attribute Value Description 4 5
action URL A URL that defines where to send the data when the submit button is pushed 4 5
data URL For inserting data automatically   5
replace value Defines what to to when a form has been submitted   5
accept list of contenttypes A comma separated list of content types that the server that processes this form will handle correctly 4 5
accept-charset charset_list A comma separated list of possible character sets for the form data. The default value is "unknown" 4 5
enctype mimetype The mime type used to encode the content of the form 4 5
method get
post		 The HTTP method for sending data to the action URL. Default is get.

method="get": This method sends the form contents in the URL: URL?name=value&name=value. Note: If the form values contains non-ASCII characters or exceeds 100 characters you MUST use method="post".

method="post": This method sends the form contents in the body of the request. Note: Most browsers are unable to bookmark post requests.

 4 5
name form_name Defines a unique name for the form. Not supported, use id instead 4  
target _blank
_self
_parent
_top

Where to open the target URL.

  • _blank - the target URL will open in a new window
  • _self - the target URL will open in the same frame as it was clicked
  • _parent - the target URL will open in the parent frameset
  • _top - the target URL will open in the full body of the window
 4 5

Standard Attributes

class, contenteditable, contextmenu, dir, draggable, id, irrelevant, lang, ref, registrationmark, tabindex, template, title

For a full description, go to Standard Attributes in HTML 5.

Event Attributes

onabort, onbeforeunload, onblur, onchange, onclick, oncontextmenu, ondblclick, ondrag, ondragend, ondragenter, ondragleave, ondragover, ondragstart, ondrop, onerror, onfocus, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onload, onmessage, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseover, onmouseout, onmouseup, onmousewheel, onresize, onscroll, onselect, onsubmit, onunload

For a full description, go to Event Attributes in HTML 5.

Try-It-Yourself Demos

Form with input fields and a submit button
How to add a form to a page. The form contains two input fields and a submit button.

Form with checkboxes
This form contains two checkboxes, and a submit button.

Form with radiobuttons
This form contains two radio buttons, and a submit button.

Send e-mail from a form
How to send e-mail from a form.

From http://www.w3schools.com (Copyright Refsnes Data)