| Depr. | Version |
|---|---|
| No | HTML 2 |
| IE5.5+ | FF1+ | SA1.3+ | OP9.2+ | CH2+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
Syntax
Description
The name attribute is
used to reference form data after it’s submitted, and
to reference the data using JavaScript on the client side. Unlike the
id attribute, which must be given a unique value
each time it’s applied to a new form control, a
name attribute with a given value may be applied to
numerous form controls (although in practice this approach is
only ever seen in use with radio input
buttons). Note that only form elements which have a
name attribute will have their values passed
through to the page or script specified in the form’s
action attribute.
Example
Thename
attribute of "favoritefood" provides a means for
referencing the select’s data:<form>
<label for="favoritefood">Favorite food</label>
<select name="favoritefood" id="favoritefood">
<option>Cheese</option>
<option>Egg</option>
<option>Cabbage</option>
⋮
</select>
</form>
Value
This attribute takes as its value any name that the developer chooses, as long as that name doesn’t contain spaces or special characters.
Compatibility
| Internet Explorer | Firefox | Safari | Opera | Chrome | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 9.2 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 2.0 |
| Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
It causes no compatibility issues, and has excellent support across all tested browsers.
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