Skip to: content, navigation

by Ian Lloyd

onclick (HTML attribute)

Browser support full matrix
IE5.5+ FF1+ Saf1.3+ Op9.2+
Full Full Full Full
Spec
Depr. Version
No HTML 4
onclick="script"

Example

Clicking anywhere on the div below will call a function, defined elsewhere, called showStats():

<div onclick="showStats();">Figures for February’s racing.</div>

Description

The onclick event handler captures a click event from the users’ mouse button on the element to which the onclick attribute is applied. This action usually results in a call to a script method such as a JavaScript function, like this:
onclick="displayHelpInfo();"
However, it can also be used to run a script in situ:
onclick="alert('You are clicking on me');"

Value

This attribute has no fixed value. It’s up to the author to decide on the scripting that’s included here, be that a call to one or more defined functions, or a simple alert() statement.

However, the likely values will be similar to this:

onclick="doMyFunction();"

You could also specify a value like this:

onclick="doThisFunction();thenDoTheOtherFunction();"

You may also use a value like this:

onclick="alert('Hello world');window.close();"

Note that you can string several functions together, separating them with a semicolon, as shown in the second and third examples above.

Compatibility

IE5.5Full
6.0Full
7.0Full
Firefox1.0Full
1.5Full
2.0Full
Safari1.3Full
2.0Full
3.0Full
Opera9.2Full

Every browser listed supports this attribute. However, it should be avoided as it encourages the mixing of content and behavior.

User-contributed notes

There are no comments yet.

Add a note

To post a note on this topic, please log in with your SitePoint username and password. If you don't have an account yet, you can create a new account for free.

Related Products

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design

Best Seller!

You don’t need to go to Art School to design great looking web sites!

Book Cover: The Principles of Beautiful Web Design

Download the FREE sample chapters