READONLY
and
DISABLED
both remove the functionality of the input field, but to different degrees.
READONLY
locks the field: the user cannot change the value.
DISABLED
does the same thing but takes it further: the user cannot use the field in any way, not to highlight the text for copying, not to select the checkbox, not to submit the form. In fact, a disabled field is not even sent if the form is submitted.
Currently only MSIE recognizes either of these attributes.
this code
produces this
<INPUT NAME="realname" VALUE="Hi there" READONLY>
<INPUT NAME="realname" VALUE="Hi there" DISABLED>
It's important to understand that
READONLY
merely prevents the user from changing the value of the field, not from interacting with the field. For many types of fields,
READONLY
is irrelevent because you don't normally change the value. In checkboxes, for example, you can check them on or off (thus setting the
CHECKED
state) but you don't change the
value
of the field.
DISABLED
, however, actually prevents you from using the field. notice in these examples that you can set the checkboxes even though they are "read only":
