FORM XHTML Element

A version of this page is also available for

Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3

4/8/2010

The FORM element specifies that the contained controls are part of a form. This is a block element and requires a closing tag.

Using this Element

There are some common properties and collections that apply to all the elements of the document object model, see Common Properties, Methods and Collections for the HTML Elements in Internet Explorer Mobile.

This element can be used within a web page with attributes.

This element can be used within scripts where it will have properties, events and methods.

Attributes

The following table shows items that Internet Explorer Mobile supports.

Attribute	Value	Description
ACTION	URL	Specifies the URL to which the FORM content is to be sent for processing.
CLASS		Associates the element with a CSS style. > [!NOTE] > Supported only for devices running Windows Mobile 2003 software or later.
ENCTYPE	MIME	> [!NOTE] > Always defaults to application/x-www-form-urlencoded since INPUT TYPE=FILE is not supported.
ID		Uniquely identifies the element within a document. > [!NOTE] > Supported only for devices running Windows Mobile 2003 software or later.
METHOD		Specifies how the form data is sent to the server.
	get	Append the arguments to the action URL and open it as if it were anchor. If the ACTION contains a question mark and a query string, when submitted the browser sends the action URL (including its question mark and query string) along with the arguments.
	post	Sends the data through an HTTP post transaction.
NAME	String	Specifies the name for the FORM so that it can be referred to from script.
ONRESET		An event that occurs when a form is reset. > [!NOTE] > Supported only for devices running PocketPC 2002 and Smartphone 2002 software or later.
ONSUBMIT		An event that occurs when a form is submitted. > [!NOTE] > Supported only for devices running PocketPC 2002 and Smartphone 2002 software or later.
STYLE		Provides the definition of the CSS styles used for this element. > [!NOTE] > Supported only for devices running Windows Mobile 2003 software or later.
TARGET
	_blank	Causes Internet Explorer Mobile to navigate the topmost document to the HREF.
	_parent	Causes the immediate parent of the frame to navigate to the HREF.
	_self
	_top	Causes Internet Explorer Mobile to navigate the topmost document to the HREF.

Scripting Properties

The following table shows items that Internet Explorer Mobile supports

Property	Type	Access	Comments
action	string	Read/Write	Sets or retrieves the URL to which the FORM content is sent for processing
encoding	string	Read/Write	Read only property which retrieves the MIME encoding for the form. The value is always “application/x-www-form-urlencoded”.
length	long	Read
method	string	Read/Write	Read/write property which specifies how the form data is sent to the server. The only valid values are “post” and get”.
name	string	Read	Read only property that retrieves the name of the FORM.
offsetHeight	Number	Read-only	Contains the height of the object in pixels, relative to the parent element.
offsetLeft	Number	Read-only	Contains the number of pixels from the left of the parent element.
offsetParent	String	Read-only	Contains a reference to the container object that defines the offsetTop and offsetLeft properties of the object.
offsetTop	Number	Read-only	Contains the number of pixels from the top of the parent element
offsetWidth	Number	Read-only	Contains the width of the object in pixels, relative to the parent element.
target	string	Read/Write	Read/write property that sets or retrieves the TARGET of the FORM. See FORM TARGET attribute for the possible values and behavior.

Scripting Events

The following table shows items that Internet Explorer Mobile supports

Event	Comment
onreset	This event fires when a form reset is initiated by the user. > [!NOTE] > Supported only for devices running Smartphone 2002 and Pocket PC 2002 software or later.
onsubmit	This event fires when a form is about to be submitted. Note: this event only fires when the submit is initiated by the user. It will not fire if the submit() method is called on the form.

Scripting Methods

The following table shows items that Internet Explorer Mobile supports.

Method	Arguments	Comments
getAttribute		syntax: vAttrValue=form.getAttribute(sAttrName[,iFlags]) Returns the value of the specified attribute. If the attribute is not present then a NULL is returned. sAttrName is a String containing the name of the attribute. iFlags is an integer that specifies one or more of the following: 0 (Default) Performs a property search that is not case-sensitive, and returns an interpolated value if the property is found. 1 Performs a case-sensitive property search. To find a match, the uppercase and lowercase letters in sAttrName must exactly match those in the attribute name. 2 Returns the value exactly as it was set in script or in the source document.
reset		syntax: form.reset() simulates a mouse click on the reset button which resets the form back to its initial state.
submit		syntax: form.submit() submits the form but does NOT fire the onsubmit event.

Scripting Collections

The following table shows items that Internet Explorer Mobile supports.

Collections	Arguments	Support	Comments
elements	object	Yes	Collection of all the controls in a given form. Note that for browser input type=image controls are included in this collection. syntax: [colElements=]form.elements [oObject=]form.elements(vIndex) colElements Collection of controls oObject Reference to an individual item in the array of elements contained by the object. vIndex Required. Integer that specifies the element or collection to retrieve. The value of vIndex cannot be accessed as a string.
length	long	Read	Contains the number of elements in the elements collection.
item	([optional] variant name, [optional] variant index)	Yes

Requirements

Windows Mobile

Pocket PC for Windows Mobile Version 5.0 and later, Smartphone for Windows Mobile Version 5.0 and later

See Also

Concepts

Internet Explorer Mobile HTML Elements