onfocus Event

Fires when the object receives the focus.

Syntax

Inline HTML	<ELEMENT onfocus = "handler" ... >	All platforms
Event property	object.onfocus = handler	JScript (compatible with ECMA 262 language specification) only
Named script	<SCRIPT FOR = object EVENT = onfocus>	Internet Explorer only

Remarks

Bubbles	No
Cancels	No
To invoke	Give focus to an object: Click an object. Use keyboard navigation. Invoke the focus method.
Default action	Sets focus to an object.

When one object loses focus and another object receives focus, the onfocus event fires on the object receiving focus only after the onblur event fires on the object losing focus. Use the focus events to determine when to prepare an object to receive input from the user.

As of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5, you can force elements that do not implicitly receive focus to receive focus by adding them to the document tabbing order using the TABINDEX attribute.

Elements cannot receive focus until the document is finished loading.

As of Internet Explorer 5, elements retain focus within the current browser history when the user returns to a page. To avoid firing the onfocus event unintentionally for an element when the document loads, invoke the focus method on another element.

Event Object Properties

Although event handlers in the document object model do not receive parameters directly, the handler can query the event object for data.

Event Object Properties

clientX	Retrieves the x-coordinate of the mouse cursor relative to the client area of the window, excluding window decorations or scroll bars.
clientY	Retrieves the y-coordinate of the mouse cursor relative to the client area of the window, excluding window decorations or scroll bars.
offsetX	Retrieves the horizontal coordinate of the mouse's position relative to the object firing the event.
offsetY	Retrieves the vertical coordinate of the mouse's position relative to the object firing the event.
returnValue	Sets or retrieves the return value from the event.
screenX	Retrieves the horizontal position of the mouse, in pixels, relative to the user's screen.
screenY	Retrieves the vertical position of the mouse, in pixels, relative to the user's screen.
srcElement	Retrieves the object that fired the event.
type	Retrieves the event name from the event object.
x	Retrieves the x-coordinate of the mouse cursor relative to the parent element.
y	Retrieves the y-coordinate of the mouse cursor relative to the parent element.

Example

This example uses the onfocus event to make INPUT_text and LABEL objects more accessible. When the INPUT_text object has focus, the onfocus event fires and the backgroundColor, fontSize, and fontWeight properties are changed to give the control more prominence.

Sample Code

<STYLE>
.accessible {
   background-color: "#AAAAFF";
   font-weight: bold;
   font-size: 12pt;
}
</STYLE>
<SCRIPT>
function fnSetStyle(){
   event.srcElement.className="accessible";
   var oWorkLabel=eval(event.srcElement.id + "_label");
   oWorkLabel.className="accessible";
}
</SCRIPT>

<LABEL FOR="oInput" CLASS="normal" ID="oInput_label">
Enter some text</LABEL>

<INPUT TYPE="text"
   CLASS="normal"
   onfocus="fnSetStyle()"
   ID="oInput"
>

This feature requires Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. Click the icon below to install the latest version. Then reload this page to view the sample.

Applies To

[ Object Name ] Platform Version Win16: Win32: Mac: Unix: WinCE: Version data is listed when the mouse hovers over a link, or the link has focus.

A, ACRONYM, ADDRESS, APPLET, AREA, B, BDO, BIG, BLOCKQUOTE, BUTTON, CAPTION, CENTER, CITE, custom, DD, DEL, DFN, DIR, DIV, DL, DT, EM, EMBED, FIELDSET, FONT, FORM, FRAME, FRAMESET, Hn, HR, I, IFRAME, IMG, INPUT type=button, INPUT type=checkbox, INPUT type=file, INPUT type=hidden, INPUT type=image, INPUT type=password, INPUT type=radio, INPUT type=reset, INPUT type=submit, INPUT type=text, INS, ISINDEX, KBD, LABEL, LEGEND, LI, LISTING, MARQUEE, MENU, OBJECT, OL, P, PLAINTEXT, PRE, Q, RT, RUBY, S, SAMP, SELECT, SMALL, SPAN, STRIKE, STRONG, SUB, SUP, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TEXTAREA, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TR, TT, U, UL, VAR, window, XMP