cfinput

Description

Used within the cfform tag, to place radio buttons, check boxes, or text boxes on a form. Provides input validation for the specified control type.

Category

Forms tags

Syntax

<cfinput 
  type = "input_type"
  name = "name"
  value = "initial_value"
  required = "Yes" or "No"
  range = "min_value, max_value"
  validate = "data_type"
  onValidate = "javascript_function"
  pattern = "regexp"
  message = "validation_msg"
  onError = "text"
  size = "integer"
  maxLength = "integer"
  checked 
  passThrough = "HTML_attributes"> 

See also

cfapplet, cfform, cfgrid, cfselect, cfslider, cftextinput, cftree

History

New in ColdFusion MX: if the cfform tag preserveData attribute is set to True, ColdFusion checks radio and checkbox values only if their value matches the posted value for the control. (In earlier releases, if the posted value did not match any of the cfinput checkboxes or radio buttons for the control, the checked attribute was used.

Attributes

Attribute Req/Opt Default Description
type
Optional
text
  • text: creates a text entry box control
  • radio: creates a radio button control
  • checkbox: creates a checkbox control
  • password: creates a password entry control
name
Required
 
Name for form input element.
value
Optional
 
Initial value for form input element.
required
Optional
No
  • Yes
  • No
range
Optional
 
Minimum and maximum value range, separated by a comma. If type = "text" or "password", this applies only to numeric data.
validate
Optional
 
Verifies a value's format:
  • date: US date mm/dd/yyyy
  • eurodate: European date dd/mm/yyyy
  • time: time hh:mm:ss
  • float: floating point entry
  • integer: integer entry
  • telephone: telephone ###-###-####. Separator: hyphen or blank. Area code and exchange must begin with a digit 1 - 9.
  • zipcode: (U.S. formats only) 5-digit ##### or 9-digit #####-####. Separator: hyphen or blank.
  • creditcard: strips blanks and dashes; uses the mod10 algorithm.
  • social_security_number: ###-##-####. Separator: hyphen or blank.
  • regular_expression: matches input against regular expression specified by the pattern attribute.
onValidate
Optional
 
Custom JavaScript function to validate user input. The form object, input object, and input object values are passed to the routine, which should return True if validation succeeds, and False otherwise. If used, the validate attribute is ignored.
pattern
Required if validate = "regular_
expression"

 
JavaScript regular expression pattern to validate input. Omit leading and trailing slashes. For examples and syntax, see the "Building Dynamic Forms" chapter in Developing ColdFusion Applications.
message
Optional
 
Message text to display if validation fails.
onError
Optional
 
Custom JavaScript function to execute if validation fails.
size
Optional
 
Size of input control. Ignored, if type = "radio" or "checkbox".
maxLength
Optional
 
Maximum length of text entered, if type = "Text" or "password".
checked
Optional
 
Selects a control. No value is required.
Applies if type = "radio" or "checkbox".
Optional: you can enter the following values:
  • true (equivalent to checked)
  • false (equivalent to omitting the attribute)
passThrough
Optional
 
HTML attributes that are not supported by cfinput. If you specify an attribute and value, they are passed to the HTML code generated for the tag.

Usage

If the cfform preserveData attribute is true and the form posts back to the same page, the posted value of the cfinput control is used, instead of its Value or Checked attribute.

If cfinput checkbox or radio type values match the submitted value for the control, ColdFusion checks their values. If no value matches, nothing is checked.

To add other HTML <input> tag attributes and values to this tag, use the passThrough attribute. They are passed through ColdFusion to the browser when creating a form. The supported HTML attributes are: CLASS, ID, MAXLENGTH, MESSAGE, ONBLUR, ONCHANGE, ONCLICK, ONDBLCLICK, ONFOCUS, SIZE, STYLE, and TABINDEX.

If you specify a value in quotation marks, you must escape them; for example,

passThrough = "readonly = " "YES " " "

For more information, see "cfform". For information on using JavaScript regular expressions with this tag, see Developing ColdFusion MX Applications with CFML.

Example

<!--- this example shows the use of cfinput within a cfform to ensure simple
validation of text items --->
<cfform action = "cfinput.cfm">
<!--- phone number validation --->
Phone Number Validation (enter a properly formatted phone number): <br>
<cfinput 
  type = "Text" name = "MyPhone" 
  message = "Enter telephone number,formatted xxx-xxx-xxxx (e.g. 617-761-2000)"
  validate = "telephone" required = "Yes">
  <font size = -1 color = red>Required</font>
<!--- zip code validation --->
<p>Zip Code Validation (enter a properly formatted zip code):<br>
<cfinput 
  type = "Text" name = "MyZip" 
  message = "Enter zip code, formatted xxxxx or xxxxx-xxxx" 
  validate = "zipcode" required = "Yes">
  <font size = -1 color = red>Required</font>
<!--- range validation --->
<p>Range Validation (enter an integer from 1 to 5): <br>
<cfinput 
  type = "Text" name = "MyRange" range = "1,5" 
  message = "You must enter an integer from 1 to 5" 
  validate = "integer" required = "No">
<!--- date validation --->
<p>Date Validation (enter a properly formatted date):<br>
<cfinput 
  type = "Text" name = "MyDate" 
  message = "Enter a correctly formatted date (dd/mm/yy)" 
  validate = "date" required = "No">
<input 
  type = "Submit" name = "" 
  value = "send my information">
</cfform>

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