HTML <fieldset> Tag
The HTML <fieldset> tag represents a group of form elements in an HTML document.
The <fieldset> tag can be used with the <legend> tag to make a form more readable and/or easier to comprehend.
Syntax
The <fieldset> tag is written as <fieldset></fieldset> with the grouped form controls inserted between the start and end tags.
You can use the disabled attribute to disable all child form controls within the <fieldset> element. You can also use the form attribute to associate the element with a <form> element on the same document.
Like this:
Examples
Basic tag usage
Here we create two groups of form elements - one for name details, the other for gender.
Add a Legend
You can use the <legend> element to provide a legend for the <fieldset> elements. This makes it easier for users to understand what each <fieldset> element represents.
The disabled Attribute
You can disable all elements within a <fieldset> element by using the disabled attribute. This prevents users from being able to interact with the form controls.
The disabled attribute is a boolean attribute (its value is either true or false). The mere presence of this attribute sets its value to true. Therefore, you don't need to add a value (simply writing disabled is all that is required to disable the element).
Here, we disable the first <fieldset> element ("Name Details").
Add Styles
You can add styles to the <fieldset> element, just as you can with any other element.
Attributes
Attributes can be added to an HTML element to provide more information about how the element should appear or behave.
There are 3 kinds of attributes that you can add to your HTML tags: Element-specific, global, and event handler content attributes.
The <fieldset> element accepts the following attributes.
Element-Specific Attributes
This table shows the attributes that are specific to the <fieldset> tag/element.
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| disabled | Disables all form control descendants of the <fieldset> element.
This is a boolean attribute. If the attribute is present, its value must either be the empty string or a value that is an ASCII case-insensitive match for the attribute's canonical name, with no leading or trailing whitespace (i.e. either Possible values:
|
| form | Specifies a form to associate this <fieldset> element with. The value must be a ID of a form element.
|
| name | Specifies the name of the <fieldset>.
|
Global Attributes
The following attributes are standard across all HTML5 elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <fieldset> tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.
- accesskey
- class
- contenteditable
- contextmenu
- dir
- draggable
- dropzone
- hidden
- id
- inert
- itemid
- itemprop
- itemref
- itemscope
- itemtype
- lang
- spellcheck
- style
- tabindex
- title
- translate
For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.
Event Handler Content Attributes
Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain "event" occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.
Below are the standard HTML5 event handler content attributes.
Again, you can use any of these with the <fieldset> element, as well as any other HTML5 element.
- onabort
- oncancel
- onblur
- oncanplay
- oncanplaythrough
- onchange
- onclick
- oncontextmenu
- ondblclick
- ondrag
- ondragend
- ondragenter
- ondragexit
- ondragleave
- ondragover
- ondragstart
- ondrop
- ondurationchange
- onemptied
- onended
- onerror
- onfocus
- onformchange
- onforminput
- oninput
- oninvalid
- onkeydown
- onkeypress
- onkeyup
- onload
- onloadeddata
- onloadedmetadata
- onloadstart
- onmousedown
- onmousemove
- onmouseout
- onmouseover
- onmouseup
- onmousewheel
- onpause
- onplay
- onplaying
- onprogress
- onratechange
- onreadystatechange
- onscroll
- onseeked
- onseeking
- onselect
- onshow
- onstalled
- onsubmit
- onsuspend
- ontimeupdate
- onvolumechange
- onwaiting
For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 event handler content attributes.
Differences Between HTML 4 & HTML 5
HTML5 has added 3 new attributes for the <fieldset> element. These are:
disabledformname
Also, the align attribute is obsolete in HTML5 (it was already deprecated in HTML 4).
To see more detail on the two versions see HTML5 <fieldset> Tag and HTML4 <fieldset> Tag. Also check out the links to the official specifications below.
Template
Here's a template for the <fieldset> tag with all available attributes for the tag (based on HTML5). These are grouped into attribute types, each type separated by a space. In many cases, you will probably only need one or two (if any) attributes. Simply remove the attributes you don't need.
For more information on attributes for this tag, see HTML5 <fieldset> Tag and HTML4 <fieldset> Tag.
Tag Details
For more details about the <fieldset> tag, see HTML5 <fieldset> Tag and HTML4 <fieldset> Tag.
Specifications
Here are the official specifications for the <fieldset> element.
- HTML5 Specification (W3C)
- HTML Living Standard (WHATWG)
- Current W3C Draft (the next version that is currently being worked on)
- HTML 4 (W3C)
What's the Difference?
W3C creates "snapshot" specifications that don't change once defined. So the HTML5 specification won't change once it becomes an official recommendation. WHATWG on the other hand, develops a "living standard" that is updated on a regular basis. In general, you will probably find that the HTML living standard will be more closely aligned to the current W3C draft than to the HTML5 specification.