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The Action Attribute

 

The action attribute defines the action to be performed when the form is submitted.

 

Usually, the form data is sent to a file on the server when the user clicks on the submit button.

 

In the example below, the form data is sent to a file called "action_page.php". This file contains a server-side script that handles the form data:

 

EXAMPLE:

<form action="/action_page.php">
  <label for="fname">First name:</label><br>
  <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname" value="John"><br>
  <label for="lname">Last name:</label><br>
  <input type="text" id="lname" name="lname" value="Doe"><br><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

The Target Attribute

The target attribute specifies where to display the response that is received after submitting the form.

The target attribute can have one of the following values:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXAMPLE:

<form action="/action_page.php" target="_blank">

The Method Attribute

The method attribute specifies the HTTP method to use used when submitting the form data.

The form-data can be sent as URL variables (with method="get") or as HTTP post transaction (with method="post").

 

The default HTTP method when submitting form data is GET.

EXAMPLE:

<form action="/action_page.php" method="get">

EXAMPLE:

 

<form action="/action_page.php" method="post">
 

Notes on GET:

- Appends the form data to the URL, in name/value pairs

-NEVER use GET to send sensitive data! (the submitted form data is visible in the URL!)

- The length of a URL is limited (2048 characters)

- Useful for form submissions where a user wants to bookmark the result

- GET is good for non-secure data, like query strings in Google

 

Notes on POST:

- Appends the form data inside the body of the HTTP request (the submitted form data is not shown in the URL)

- POST has no size limitations, and can be used to send large amounts of data

- Form submissions with POST cannot be bookmarked

The Autocomplete Attribute

The autocomplete attribute specifies whether a form should have autocomplete on or off.

When autocomplete is on, the browser automatically complete values based on values that the user has entered before. 

EXAMPLE:

<form action="/action_page.php" autocomplete="on">

The Novalidate Attribute

The novalidate attribute is a boolean attribute.

 

When present, it specifies that the form-data (input) should not be validated when submitted.

EXAMPLE:

<form action="/action_page.php" novalidate>

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