Quackit Logo
HTML
CSS
Scripting
Database
Hosting
Design
XML
Website builder

HTML 5 <keygen> Tag

The HTML <keygen> tag is used for generating a key pair. When the control's form is submitted, the private key is stored in the local keystore, and the public key is packaged and sent to the server.

This attribute was not supported in previous versions of HTML.

Attributes

HTML tags can contain one or more attributes. Attributes are added to a tag to provide the browser with more information about how the tag should appear or behave. Attributes consist of a name and a value separated by an equals (=) sign, with the value surrounded by double quotes. Here's an example, style="color:black;".

There are 3 kinds of attributes that you can add to your HTML tags: Element-specific, global, and event handler content attributes.

The attributes that you can add to this tag are listed below.

Element-Specific Attributes

The following table shows the attributes that are specific to this tag/element.

AttributeDescription
autofocusAutomatically gives focus to this control when the page loads. This allows the user to start using the control without having to select it first. There must not be more than one element in the document with the autofocus attribute specified.

This is a boolean attribute. If the attribute is present, its value must either be the empty string or a value that is an ASCII case-insensitive match for the attribute's canonical name, with no leading or trailing whitespace (i.e. either autofocus or autofocus="autofocus").

Possible values:

  • [Empty string]
  • autofocus
challengeSpecifies whether or not the value of the keygen is be challenged when submitted.
disabledDisables the control. The control won't accept changes from the user. It also cannot receive focus and will be skipped when tabbing.

This is a boolean attribute. If the attribute is present, its value must either be the empty string or a value that is an ASCII case-insensitive match for the attribute's canonical name, with no leading or trailing whitespace (i.e. either disabled or disabled="disabled").

Possible values:

  • [Empty string]
  • disabled
formSpecifies the ID of a form to which this control belongs.

Possible values:

[The ID of a form element in the element's owner Document]

keytypeSpecifies a key type. For example, the value "RSA" specifies an RSA key.
nameAssigns a name to the input control.

Global Attributes

The following attributes are standard across all HTML 5 tags.

accesskey draggable style
class hidden tabindex
contenteditable id title
contextmenu lang  
dir spellcheck  

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.

Event Handler Content Attributes

Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain "event" occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.

Here are the standard HTML 5 event handler content attributes.

onabort onerror* onmousewheel
onblur* onfocus* onpause
oncanplay onformchange onplay
oncanplaythrough onforminput onplaying
onchange oninput onprogress
onclick oninvalid onratechange
oncontextmenu onkeydown onreadystatechange
ondblclick onkeypress onscroll
ondrag onkeyup onseeked
ondragend onload* onseeking
ondragenter onloadeddata onselect
ondragleave onloadedmetadata onshow
ondragover onloadstart onstalled
ondragstart onmousedown onsubmit
ondrop onmousemove onsuspend
ondurationchange onmouseout ontimeupdate
onemptied onmouseover onvolumechange
onended onmouseup onwaiting

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 event handler content attributes.

Also see the HTML 4.01 tags


Enjoy this page?

  1. Add this page to your Favorites
  2. Link to this page (copy/paste into your own website or blog):
  3. Link to Quackit using one of these banner ads.

Thanks for supporting Quackit!