← Back to jQuery Course | Chapter 2: Selectors | Lesson 3 of 10

Form Selectors

The input selector targets input elements.

In this page:

  1. Input Selector
  2. Text Input Selector
  3. Password Selector
  4. Checkbox and Radio
  5. Submit and File
Syntax
javascript 
$(":input")
$(":text")
$(":checkbox")
$(":radio")
$(":submit")

Input Selector

':input' matches every form control on the page, including textareas, selects, and buttons, not just <input> tags. It's the broadest of jQuery's form-related selectors.

Example: Input Selector

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    .btn { display:inline-block; padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; font:13px sans-serif; }
    #resetBtn.btn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <span id="runBtn" class="btn" role="button">Run</span>
  <span id="resetBtn" class="btn" role="button">Reset</span>
  <section id="demo">
    <input><textarea></textarea><button>Go</button>

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    $("#runBtn").click(function() {
      $("#output").text($(":input").length);
    });

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Text Input Selector

The ':text' selector narrows that down to just single-line text inputs, ignoring every other control type like checkboxes or buttons. It's shorthand for input[type="text"] but slightly slower since it can't use a native browser lookup.

Example: Text Input Selector

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <button id="runBtn">Run</button>
  <button id="resetBtn">Reset</button>
  <section id="demo">
    <input type="text"><input type="checkbox">

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    $("#runBtn").click(function() {
      $("#output").text($(":text").length);
    });

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Password Selector

The ':password' selector targets only password fields, which is useful when you need to validate or mask that specific input differently from regular text fields.

Example: Password Selector

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <button id="runBtn">Run</button>
  <button id="resetBtn">Reset</button>
  <section id="demo">
    <input type="password"><input type="text">

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    $("#runBtn").click(function() {
      $("#output").text($(":password").length);
    });

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Checkbox and Radio

':checkbox' and ':radio' let you select those specific control types directly, which is often paired with .prop(checked) to read or set whether they're currently selected.

Example: Checkbox and Radio

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <button id="runBtn">Run</button>
  <button id="resetBtn">Reset</button>
  <section id="demo">
    <input type="checkbox" checked><input type="radio">

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    $("#runBtn").click(function() {
      $("#output").text(String($(":checkbox").prop("checked")));
    });

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Submit and File

jQuery also provides ':submit' for submit buttons and ':file' for file-upload inputs, rounding out the full set of form-control selectors you can target individually.

Example: Submit and File

javascript 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <style>
    button { padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border:none; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; }
    #resetBtn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #output { margin-top:10px; padding:8px; border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:4px; background:#f7f7f7; font-family:monospace; min-height:24px; }
    .btn { display:inline-block; padding:6px 14px; margin:4px; background:#2c6aa0; color:white; border-radius:4px; cursor:pointer; font:13px sans-serif; }
    #resetBtn.btn { background:white; color:#2c6aa0; border:1px solid #2c6aa0; }
    #demo :where(p, div, span, li, h1, h2, h3, h4, td, th, blockquote, label, section, article, aside) { border:1px solid #4a7fb5; background:#eaf2fb; padding:6px 10px; margin:4px 0; border-radius:4px; }
    #demo :where(ul, ol) { border:1px dashed #888; background:#fafafa; padding:8px 8px 8px 32px; margin:6px 0; }
    #demo :where(table) { border-collapse:collapse; }
    #demo :where(td, th) { border-radius:0; }
    #demo :where(input, select, textarea) { margin:4px 0; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <span id="runBtn" class="btn" role="button">Run</span>
  <span id="resetBtn" class="btn" role="button">Reset</span>
  <section id="demo">
    <input type="submit"><input type="file">

  </section>
  <div id="output"></div>
  <script>
    var original = $("#demo").html();

    $("#runBtn").click(function() {
      $("#output").text($(":submit").length + " " + $(":file").length);
    });

    $("#resetBtn").click(function() {
      $("#demo").html(original);
      $("#output").empty();
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>
Related Topics

Form Filter Selectors · Attribute Selectors · Hierarchy Selectors · Basic Selectors

{# common_mistakes/chapter_summary/browser_support: on Hindi pages the view already swaps in the hi_ translation fields (or blanks these out if untranslated), so this renders correctly for both languages without a lang_code check here. #}
Common Mistakes
  1. Assuming :input matches only <input> tags; it also matches <textarea>, <select> and <button>.
  2. Using :text and expecting it to find a <textarea> or an input with no type attribute reliably, when it targets input[type=text] only.
  3. Writing $(":checkbox") and expecting only checked boxes; it selects every checkbox, and you need :checked to narrow it down.
🔒

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