how to avoid listing previously entered values in certain text fields of a form? HTML, PHP

Question

In my HTML FORMs, when I focus certain text fields they list down history of values entered previously. Is it possible to avoid this auto-drop-down? I am not looking for some browser settings tips for my computer, instead, I want these settings for all of the users of my website filling a form.

Will it also be possible to apply these settings for some selected text fields only? as historical values for some text fields may be helpful for a particular user using his/her machine.

May be this could be achieved using Javascript, but no clue where to start from.

Thanks for your help.

PS: I am using PHP and Javascript (JQuery).

Name the field something crazy that they probably have never encountered before. :) — Tim, Jun 29 '09 at 15:38
@Tim .. LOL .. but the solution I am looking for is for users using my website's forms again and again. — TigerTiger, Jun 29 '09 at 15:40
Note that if you have autocomplete="off" on a password field, Firefox will not save the password. However, if the password is already saved, it will be populated in a password field, even if autocomplete="off". — Daniel Vandersluis, Jun 29 '09 at 16:07

score 15 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 29 '09 at 15:38

15

Add the attribute autocomplete="off" to each of your form elements.

This is not part of the W3C HTML standard, but it does work in both Mozilla & IE browsers.

answered Jun 29 '09 at 15:38

Matt Bridges

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I think this is an Internet Explorer specific thing. – Matthew Groves Jun 29 '09 at 15:39
In which standard is this defined? In which browser is this implemented? – bandi Jun 29 '09 at 15:39
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It is not defined in any standard, but I haven't seen a browser that does autocomplete that does *not* obey this tag. – Matt Bridges Jun 29 '09 at 15:43
will it pass thru validation tests? – TigerTiger Jun 29 '09 at 15:44
accessibility validation, and html validation – TigerTiger Jun 29 '09 at 15:45
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Invented by Microsoft, but now in HTML5 (http://www.w3.org/TR/html5/forms.html#the-autocomplete-attribute) and supported by all major browsers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_layout_engines_(HTML_5) – mercator Jun 29 '09 at 15:49
This answer doesn't work in Mozilla Firefox on password fields, the browser ignores it – Ferrybig Oct 21 '18 at 16:47

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:08

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Try autocomplete="off" in your <form> or <input> tag, see this Mozilla article, this MSDN page and this Safari Reference page for more info. Looks like Safari has only documented the use of the attribute on individual <input> tags though.

See also the answers to the question How can I prevent Firefox’s Autocomplete?

edited May 23 '17 at 12:08

Community

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answered Jun 29 '09 at 15:39

Paul Dixon

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 29 '09 at 15:44

I think that this is implemented in firefox using an internal table with field names and their history. You can try to generate a custom name for your fields (like "name-asdfg" instead of just "name"), which results in a form generation and processing overhead (you must strip the nonsense from the end of the name).

how to avoid listing previously entered values in certain text fields of a form? HTML, PHP

3 Answers3