JavaScript code to stop form submission
Asked Answered
S

16

290

One way to stop form submission is to return false from your JavaScript function.

When the submit button is clicked, a validation function is called. I have a case in form validation. If that condition is met I call a function named returnToPreviousPage();

function returnToPreviousPage() {
    window.history.back();
}

I am using JavaScript and Dojo Toolkit.

Rather going back to the previous page, it submits the form. How can I abort this submission and return to the previous page?

Systematic answered 29/12, 2011 at 5:56 Comment(3)
R U Sure this function is calling?? try to put alert('test'); before window.historyCrucial
yes I am sure; its being called.Systematic
possible duplicate of How to prevent form from being submitted?Bradney
C
400

There are many ways to achieve it.

one can be using preventDefault() and validateForm()

<form onsubmit="event.preventDefault(); validateMyForm();">

Here validateMyForm() will returns false if validation gets failed.

You can also use the return value of the function to prevent the form submission

<form name="myForm" onsubmit="return validateMyForm();"> 

and function like

<script type="text/javascript">
function validateMyForm()
{
  if(check if your conditions are not satisfying)
  { 
    alert("validation failed false");
    returnToPreviousPage();
    return false;
  }

  alert("validations passed");
  return true;
}
</script>

In case of Chrome 27.0.1453.116 m if above code does not work, please set the event handler's parameter's returnValue field to false to get it to work.

Thanks Sam for sharing information.

Choosey answered 29/12, 2011 at 6:30 Comment(13)
Just a guess: it doesn't work for me in the latest version of Chrome.Sawdust
Anything that returns false doesn't seem to have any effect; Chrome still submits the form. For example, onsubmit="return false;". However, setting the event handler's parameter's returnValue field to false does work for me.Sawdust
Thanks for providing information. which version of chrome you are using?Choosey
Hi Sam / Hemant, can you provide code sample as for how to set event handler's parameter's returnValue field to false please.Sidonius
@Sidonius you can simply write return false;Choosey
I think since this is the accepted answer, it should probably tell how to do this properly. I along with JackDev, are wondering how to get this to work properly. As is, this does not workLindalindahl
@JackDev,@Cruncher,@Mariano please go through htmlgoodies.com/beyond/javascript/…Choosey
If validateMyForm() has errors return false will not be reached. So this may fail. After many hours, I found a solution that works and posted it below.Lille
@VikramPudi thanks for work around. I am editing my answer with your solution as well.Choosey
This answer is wrong and confusing for reasons too many to enumerate. See @GregGuida's answer for preventDefault(), also: returnValue is not even a standard.Millikan
You cannot use onsubmit attribute with Content-Security-Protection unless you add unsafe-inline which is definitely not recommended. Use real event handlers suggested by other answers, instead.Faria
@Sawdust Event.returnValue has been deprecated. Please see: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Event/returnValueVachel
Vikram is the bestBetthel
A
157

Use prevent default

Dojo Toolkit

dojo.connect(form, "onsubmit", function(evt) {
    evt.preventDefault();
    window.history.back();
});

jQuery

$('#form').submit(function (evt) {
    evt.preventDefault();
    window.history.back();
});

Vanilla JavaScript

if (element.addEventListener) {
    element.addEventListener("submit", function(evt) {
        evt.preventDefault();
        window.history.back();
    }, true);
}
else {
    element.attachEvent('onsubmit', function(evt){
        evt.preventDefault();
        window.history.back();
    });
}
Assize answered 29/12, 2011 at 6:2 Comment(6)
I would recommend event.preventDefault() over return false for a lot of reasons, this should be the top answer: blog.nmsdvid.com/…Spurling
Good answer. Better than the chosen one.Lord
Good, but where would you perform the validation the OP wants?Complot
@Spurling But how does one access the form data after preventing default?Cropland
@Complot @codeat30 You can access the event target.Hasen
@Spurling link is deadBushwa
L
61

The following works as of now (tested in Chrome and Firefox):

<form onsubmit="event.preventDefault(); validateMyForm();">

Where validateMyForm() is a function that returns false if validation fails. The key point is to use the name event. We cannot use for e.g. e.preventDefault().

Lille answered 14/5, 2014 at 5:21 Comment(0)
B
35

Base on @Vikram Pudi answer, we can also do like this with pure Javascript

<form onsubmit="submitForm(event)">
    <input type="text">
    <input type="submit">
</form>

<script type="text/javascript">

    function submitForm(event){
        event.preventDefault();


    }
</script>
Brynne answered 9/11, 2019 at 7:38 Comment(0)
A
20

Just use a simple button instead of a submit button. And call a JavaScript function to handle form submit:

<input type="button" name="submit" value="submit" onclick="submit_form();"/>

Function within a script tag:

function submit_form() {
    if (conditions) {
        document.forms['myform'].submit();
    }
    else {
        returnToPreviousPage();
    }
}

You can also try window.history.forward(-1);

Acalia answered 29/12, 2011 at 6:11 Comment(2)
I like this approach because it allows for my use case, callbacks.Sniffy
This prevents the use of the enter key to submit the form. Also, new HTML5 attributes such as required won't work.Sawdust
L
12

Lots of hard ways to do an easy thing:

<form name="foo" onsubmit="return false">
Lark answered 3/8, 2017 at 13:12 Comment(6)
This exact answer (OK, not exact, since yours is missing a semi-colon) was submitted 8 months earlier, and has negative votes for good reason. This works most of the time. But not on all browsers all of the time.Radiancy
I didn't say you needed a semicolon; I pointed out that that was all that was different between your answer and a much older one. The fact that you are now asking me to point out which browsers don't support it (I never said there were any, I merely pointed out that it won't always work), proves that you still haven't read this whole page.Radiancy
I don't usually examine the down-votes, except I didn't know that people were down-voting correct code. Technically, the semicolon is extraneous, so it's wrong. And you said "yours is missing the semicolon" implying that it's needed, which is wrong. You say it "won't always work" but you can't point out a single case or browser where it won't work? This is sound logic? It's correct code. So unless you can point out the case where it won't work, then you don't have a point at all.Lark
How does this not have more upvotes? It's far more terse compared to the other examples.Pleasure
Probably because the title doesn't match what the guy was actually asking.Lark
This solution works for me all of the time (Google Chrome).Torsk
E
9

All your answers gave something to work with.

FINALLY, this worked for me: (if you dont choose at least one checkbox item, it warns and stays in the same page)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
    </head>
    <body>
        <form name="helloForm" action="HelloWorld" method="GET"  onsubmit="valthisform();">
            <br>
            <br><b> MY LIKES </b>
            <br>
            First Name: <input type="text" name="first_name" required>
            <br />
            Last Name: <input type="text" name="last_name"  required />
            <br>
            <input type="radio" name="modifyValues" value="uppercase" required="required">Convert to uppercase <br>
            <input type="radio" name="modifyValues" value="lowercase" required="required">Convert to lowercase <br>
            <input type="radio" name="modifyValues" value="asis"      required="required" checked="checked">Do not convert <br>
            <br>
            <input type="checkbox" name="c1" value="maths"     /> Maths
            <input type="checkbox" name="c1" value="physics"   /> Physics
            <input type="checkbox" name="c1" value="chemistry" /> Chemistry
            <br>

            <button onclick="submit">Submit</button>

            <!-- input type="submit" value="submit" / -->
            <script>
                <!---
                function valthisform() {
                    var checkboxs=document.getElementsByName("c1");
                    var okay=false;
                    for(var i=0,l=checkboxs.length;i<l;i++) {
                        if(checkboxs[i].checked) {
                            okay=true;
                            break;
                        }
                    }
                    if (!okay) { 
                        alert("Please check a checkbox");
                        event.preventDefault();
                    } else {
                    }
                }
                -->
            </script>
        </form>
    </body>
</html>
Eweneck answered 19/3, 2016 at 16:3 Comment(1)
Worked for me also.Synclastic
B
6

I would recommend not using onsubmit and instead attaching an event in the script.

var submit = document.getElementById("submitButtonId");
if (submit.addEventListener) {
  submit.addEventListener("click", returnToPreviousPage);
} else {
  submit.attachEvent("onclick", returnToPreviousPage);
}

Then use preventDefault() (or returnValue = false for older browsers).

function returnToPreviousPage (e) {
  e = e || window.event;
  // validation code

  // if invalid
  if (e.preventDefault) {
    e.preventDefault();
  } else {
    e.returnValue = false;
  }
}
Busily answered 23/5, 2018 at 0:52 Comment(3)
Could you explain why you wouldn't use onsubmit?Inobservance
Maybe it's just preference, but I find it easier to understand the functionality of a web page if all event listeners are attached using JS instead of HTML using attributes. That way you don't need to jump back and forth as much while reading someone else's codeBusily
what if someone presses enter on one of the inputs instead of clicking the button? in general ii still submits ...Karyoplasm
I
3

Simply do it....

<form>
<!-- Your Input Elements -->
</form>

and here goes your JQuery

$(document).on('submit', 'form', function(e){
    e.preventDefault();
    //your code goes here
    //100% works
    return;
});
Intercourse answered 25/4, 2018 at 7:8 Comment(1)
y do u have used jquery here?Quiteria
S
2

Lets say you have a form similar to this

<form action="membersDeleteAllData.html" method="post">
    <button type="submit" id="btnLoad" onclick="confirmAction(event);">ERASE ALL DATA</button>
</form>

Here is the javascript for the confirmAction function

<script type="text/javascript">
    function confirmAction(e)
    {
        var confirmation = confirm("Are you sure about this ?") ;

        if (!confirmation)
        {
            e.preventDefault() ;
            returnToPreviousPage();
        }

        return confirmation ;
    }
</script>

This one works on Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer(edge), Safari, etc.

If that is not the case let me know

Sorcerer answered 8/2, 2016 at 6:5 Comment(1)
The combination of preventDefault() and returnToPreviousPage() is perfect and elegant. It interrupts normal operation just like you'd design any exception catcher to work. +1.Tessatessellate
O
2

E.g if you have submit button on form ,inorder to stop its propogation simply write event.preventDefault(); in the function which is called upon clicking submit button or enter button.

Ottinger answered 30/12, 2016 at 6:0 Comment(0)
W
2

Most simple and short code

<form onsubmit="return false">

For better cross-browser compatibility and maintainability, you can use JavaScript to attach an event listener to the form element and prevent the default form submission behavior

<form id="myForm">
  <!-- Form fields and elements -->
  <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

<script>
  document.getElementById('myForm').addEventListener('submit', function(event) {
    event.preventDefault();
    // Additional logic or actions
  });
</script>
Waggery answered 14/6, 2023 at 8:27 Comment(0)
R
1

Hemant and Vikram's answers didn't quite work for me outright in Chrome. The event.preventDefault(); script prevented the the page from submitting regardless of passing or failing the validation. Instead, I had to move the event.preventDefault(); into the if statement as follows:

    if(check if your conditions are not satisfying) 
    { 
    event.preventDefault();
    alert("validation failed false");
    returnToPreviousPage();
    return false;
    }
    alert("validations passed");
    return true;
    }

Thanks to Hemant and Vikram for putting me on the right track.

Rhynd answered 12/7, 2016 at 15:21 Comment(1)
Worked for me too. Thanks.Sepulture
B
1

Disabling submit button also can help to prevent form submission.

<input style="display:none" type="submit" disabled>

Bolshevik answered 28/12, 2021 at 13:4 Comment(1)
Genius answer here!Ahumada
R
1

Even though it seems obvious it should be noted that you will also have to then submit your form if the validation is good to go if you block submitting with prevent default. I provided a complete example below of validating doc type and then submitting if its the right doc type.

<h2>Document Upload</h2>
<script>
var CanContinue = false;

function validateMyForm()
{
if(CanContinue == false)
  { 
    alert("You must upload a PDF, PNG, or JPG of your document.");


return false;

  }
  document.getElementById("myForm").submit();

  return true;
}

function getFileNameWithExt(event) {

  if (!event || !event.target || !event.target.files || event.target.files.length === 0) {
return;
  }

  const name = event.target.files[0].name;
  const lastDot = name.lastIndexOf('.');

  const fileName = name.substring(0, lastDot);
  const ext = (name.substring(lastDot + 1)).toUpperCase();
    if (ext =="JPG") {
    extension.value = "image/jpeg";
    CanContinue = true;

} else if (ext =="JPEG") {
  extension.value = "image/jpeg";
  CanContinue = true;

} else if (ext =="PNG") {
  extension.value = "image/png";
  CanContinue = true;

} else if (ext =="PDF") {
  extension.value = "application/pdf";
  CanContinue = true;

} else {
  alert("You must upload a PDF, PNG, or JPG of your document.");
  CanContinue = false;
}

  outputfile.value = fileName;


}

</script>


                <form method="post" id="myForm" action="/wheregoing" enctype="multipart/form-data" onsubmit="event.preventDefault(); validateMyForm();">
                
                Please upload a JPG, PNG, or PDF of the front of the document.
                <input id='inputfile' type="file" name="dafile" onChange='getFileNameWithExt(event)' required>
               
             <input id='extension' type='hidden' name='ContentType' value="">
                <input type="submit">
                </form>
Reuter answered 29/4, 2022 at 22:14 Comment(0)
O
0

Use preventDefault to stop form submission.

<form onSubmit="submitForm(event)">
    <input name="field" />
    <input type="submit" value="Submit" />
</form>
<script>
    const submitForm = (event) => {
        event.preventDefault();
        // ... do something
        return false;
    }
</script>
Orlene answered 27/1 at 23:43 Comment(0)

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