Member Avatar for FlyBoy767

I'd would like in a form with an input control, that the first autocomplete value is visible in the textbox instead of a blank field.

Is it possible in javascript ?

Thanks a lot

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by tgreer

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Short answer: you cannot read or force the browser to expose its built-in autocomplete/autofill entries from JavaScript. The saved suggestions are part of the user agent UI and not exposed in the DOM for privacy/security reasons, so there is no standard API to enumerate or preselect the browser's stored values (as noted). See the HTML autofill/autocomplete documentation for background: autocomplete attribute and the spec overview (WHATWG Autofill).

That said, the practical alternatives are straightforward. ’s idea of prefilling a value on load is valid for supplyable defaults, but it does not access the browser’s saved list. Two better approaches are:

  • Use an HTML5 datalist or a JavaScript typeahead so the page supplies the suggestion list (see datalist element).
  • Implement your own suggestion store (localStorage or server-side) and populate/show suggestions under your control. To mimic “inline” completion, set the input value to the suggested text and select the remainder so typing replaces it.

Example pattern (modern approach):

<input id="q" list="saved" autocomplete="off" placeholder="Start typing">
<datalist id="saved">
  <option value="alice">
  <option value="bob">
</datalist>

<script>
const input = document.getElementById('q');
const first = document.querySelector('#saved option');
if (first) {
  input.value = first.value;
  input.setSelectionRange(0, first.value.length);
}
</script>

Notes and cautions: placeholder text is not the same as a prefilled value; browsers may ignore autocomplete="off"; synthetic key events or external hacks (SendKeys) are unreliable and insecure. For cross-browser, accessible behavior, implement and test a controlled suggestion UI (datalist or custom typeahead) rather than trying to manipulate the browser’s private autocomplete store. See MDN for setSelectionRange usage: setSelectionRange.

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Member Avatar for madmital

'this what you need?

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<SCRIPT TYPE="text/javascript">
function insertvalue()
{
document.formname.sometext.value = "default value";
}
</SCRIPT>
</HEAD>

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" onload="insertvalue()">

<FORM NAME="formname">
<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="sometext">
</FORM>
</BODY>
</HTML>
Member Avatar for FlyBoy767

Thank for you replly but ...
No no,
I'd like to put in the box the first value available with autocomplete.
You know, when you click on a box if your autocomplete is turned on, the browser propose you the stored values in a list.
Thanks

As I search for it I only found a solution in VB with sendkeys function.
But I'd prefer in Java, asp (don't think a server-side could do it), or html.

Member Avatar for tgreer

The "autocomplete" is an often very annoying and disruptive "feature" of a particular browser or browser plug-in (like the Google Toolbar). As far as I know, a standardized autocomplete was never made part of the JavaScript DOM, so you can't do what you're trying to do.

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