JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, Fourth Edition

Name

HTMLElement.onclick — the handler invoked when the user clicks on an element

Availability

JavaScript 1.2; HTML 4.0

Synopsis

<element onclick="handler" ... > 
element.onclick

Description

The onclick property of an HTMLElement object specifies an event handler function that is invoked when the user clicks on the element. Note that onclick is different than onmousedown. A click event does not occur unless a mousedown event and the subsequent mouseup event both occur over the same element.

The initial value of this property is a function that contains the JavaScript statements specified by the onclick attribute of the HTML tag that defined the object. When an event handler function is defined by an HTML attribute, it is executed in the scope of element rather than in the scope of the containing window.

In the Netscape 4 event model, the onclick handler function is passed an Event object as an argument. In the IE event model, no argument is passed, but the applicable Event object is available as the event property of the Window object that contains the element.

In Netscape 4, the Event.which property specifies which mouse button was pressed. In IE 4, the Event.button property specifies the button number.

See Also

Event, Input.onclick; Chapter 19; EventListener, EventTarget, and MouseEvent in the DOM reference section