Auto-Focus Form Elements with JavaScript

After digging through the WordPress source code, I stumbled upon this very useful JavaScript method for auto-focusing form elements upon page load. Here is the JavaScript code (place within the document head):

<script type="text/javascript">
	function formfocus() {
		document.getElementById('element').focus();
	}
	window.onload = formfocus;
</script>

…and corresponding (X)HTML markup (abbreviated for clarity):

<form>
	<input id="element" />
	<input />
	<input />
</form>

In this example, the first form element (identified by id="element") will be automatically focused when the document loads, thus facilitating the process of entering data in the form. This technique would serve users well on login pages (wink, wink;), or anywhere forms are required on a repetitive basis.

Update 1

Here is a similar method of auto-focusing a form element with just a splash of JavaScript. Place the following code into an input element that contains a predefined field value and watch in amazement as the text string is automatically highlighted upon user focus. Here is the JavaScript snippet:

onfocus="this.select();"

..and here is a “live” example:

..and corresponding code:

<input onfocus="this.select();" value="Select this element to highlight text.." type="text">

Update 2

The method discussed in this article doesn’t work as expected in newer versions of Chrome. If that sounds like you, try this snippet instead:

<input onclick="this.select()" type="text" value="Select this element to highlight text..">

So to see that working in Chrome, try the demo:

Let me know if this technique stops working in a future version of Chrome.

Update 3

Couple of modified/hybrid functions sent in by Grant Richardson:

“Just a quick but huge thanks for the post. This may seem simple to you, but I searched for 2 hours but couldn’t find anywhere how to set autofocus on woocommerce login form, so I used your code and GasGiant’s suggestion in the comments to put this together. Other methods I found didn’t work. I want to give back by sharing my solution to you. Please consider sharing for others in my situation who may need it. The following code goes in child theme’s functions.php or via a custom functions plugin:”

// autofocus woocommerce login form on username
// desired elementId can be found by inspecting the page html

function autofocus_on_login_form() {
	
	echo '<script type="text/javascript">';
	
	if (document.getElementById('username')) {
		echo 'document.getElementById("username").focus();';
	}
	
	echo '</script>';
	
}
add_action('wp_footer', 'autofocus_on_login_form');

“Here’s an updated version of the code snippet to share if you like. This version checks first to see whether the user is logged out and is on the woocommerce my-account page.”

function autofocus_on_login_form() {
	
	if (is_account_page() && !is_user_logged_in()) {
		
		echo '<script type="text/javascript">';
		
		if (document.getElementById('username')) {
			echo 'document.getElementById("username").focus();';
		}
		
		echo '</script>';
		
	}
	
}
add_action('wp_footer', 'autofocus_on_login_form');

About the Author

Jeff Starr = Creative thinker. Passionate about free and open Web.