HTML DOM getElementsByName() Method
Example
Get all elements with the specified name:
var x =
document.getElementsByName("fname");
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More "Try it Yourself" examples below.
Definition and Usage
The getElementsByName() method returns a collection of all elements in the document with the specified name (the value of the name attribute), as an HTMLCollection object.
The HTMLCollection object represents a collection of nodes. The nodes can be accessed by index numbers. The index starts at 0.
Tip: You can use the length property of the HTMLCollection object to determine the number of elements with the specified name, then you can loop through all elements and extract the info you want.
Note: In HTML5, the "name" attribute is deprecated and has been replaced by the "id" attribute for many elements. Use the document.getElementById() method where it is appropriate. Also look at the getElementsByClassName() and getElementsByTagName() methods.
Browser Support
| Method | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| getElementsByName() | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Syntax
document.getElementsByName(name)
Parameter Values
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| name | String | Required. The name attribute value of the element you want to access/manipulate |
Technical Details
| DOM Version: | Core Level 1 Document Object |
|---|---|
| Return Value: | An HTMLCollection object, representing a collection of elements with the specified name. The elements in the returned collection are sorted as they appear in the source code. |
More Examples
Example
Find out how many elements there are in the document that have a name attribute with the value "animal" (using the length property of the HTMLCollection object):
var x =
document.getElementsByName("animal").length;
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Example
Check all <input> elements with type="checkbox" in the document that have a name attribute with the value "animal":
var x = document.getElementsByName("animal");
var i;
for (i = 0; i < x.length; i++) {
if (x[i].type == "checkbox") {
x[i].checked = true;
}
}
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❮ Document Object
