HTML < button > Tag

Example

A button is marked up as follows:

<button type="button">Click Me!</button>

Definition and Usage

The <button> tag defines a push button.

Inside a button element you can put content, like text or images. This is the difference between this element and buttons created with the input element.

Always specify the type attribute for the button. The default type for Internet Explorer is "button", while in other browsers (and in the W3C specification) it is "submit".

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Browser Support

The <button> tag is supported in all major browsers.

Important: If you use the button element in an HTML form, different browsers will submit different values. Internet Explorer will submit the text between the <button> and </button> tags, while other browsers will submit the content of the value attribute. Use the input element to create buttons in an HTML form.

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Differences Between HTML and XHTML

NONE

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Optional Attributes

DTD indicates in which HTML 4.01/XHTML 1.0 DTD the attribute is allowed. S=Strict, T=Transitional, and F=Frameset.

Attribute	Value	Description	DTD
disabled	disabled	Specifies that a button should be disabled	STF
name	name	Specifies the name for a button	STF
type	button reset submit	Specifies the type of a button	STF
value	text	Specifies the underlying value of a button	STF

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Standard Attributes

The <button> tag supports the following standard attributes:

Attribute	Value	Description	DTD
accesskey	character	Specifies a keyboard shortcut to access an element	STF
class	classname	Specifies a classname for an element	STF
dir	rtl ltr	Specifies the text direction for the content in an element	STF
id	id	Specifies a unique id for an element	STF
lang	language_code	Specifies a language code for the content in an element	STF
style	style_definition	Specifies an inline style for an element	STF
tabindex	number	Specifies the tab order of an element	STF
title	text	Specifies extra information about an element	STF
xml:lang	language_code	Specifies a language code for the content in an element, in XHTML documents	STF

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Event Attributes

The <button> tag supports the following event attributes:

Attribute	Value	Description	DTD
onblur	script	Script to be run when an element loses focus	STF
onclick	script	Script to be run on a mouse click	STF
ondblclick	script	Script to be run on a mouse double-click	STF
onfocus	script	Script to be run when an element gets focus	STF
onmousedown	script	Script to be run when mouse button is pressed	STF
onmousemove	script	Script to be run when mouse pointer moves	STF
onmouseout	script	Script to be run when mouse pointer moves out of an element	STF
onmouseover	script	Script to be run when mouse pointer moves over an element	STF
onmouseup	script	Script to be run when mouse button is released	STF
onkeydown	script	Script to be run when a key is pressed	STF
onkeypress	script	Script to be run when a key is pressed and released	STF
onkeyup	script	Script to be run when a key is released	STF