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by Ian Lloyd

onreset (HTML attribute)

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

Example

If the form must have a Reset button, a good use of the onreset attribute would be to check whether the user really wanted to clear the form details:

<form name="frmPersonalDetails" action="/personal.php"
    onsubmit="checkPersonalDetails();"
    onreset="checkIfReallyWantToReset();"> ⋮ </form>

Description

The onreset attribute is used only within the context of forms, and is applied directly to the form element. When the user activates the form’s Reset button (if indeed it has one), the event is captured by this attribute, and can be used for whatever purpose the developer chooses.

Note that this attribute is used less commonly these days. Reset buttons on forms themselves have become increasingly rare, since they make it all too easy to accidentally wipe out all the details the user has spent time entering.

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.

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.

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