---
title: HTMLElement
slug: Web/API/HTMLElement
tags:
  - API
  - HTML DOM
  - Interface
  - NeedsNewLayout
  - NeedsTranslation
  - Reference
  - TopicStub
translation_of: Web/API/HTMLElement
---
<div>{{ APIRef("HTML DOM") }}</div>

<p>The <strong><code>HTMLElement</code></strong> interface represents any <a href="/en-US/docs/Web/HTML" title="/en-US/docs/Web/HTML">HTML</a> element. Some elements directly implement this interface, while others implement it via an interface that inherits it.</p>

<p>{{InheritanceDiagram}}</p>

<h2 id="Properties">Properties</h2>

<p><em>Inherits properties from its parent, {{domxref("Element")}}, and implements those from {{domxref("GlobalEventHandlers")}} and {{domxref("TouchEventHandlers")}}.</em></p>

<dl>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.accessKey")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} representing the access key assigned to the element.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.accessKeyLabel")}} {{readonlyInline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the element's assigned access key.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.contentEditable")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}}, where a value of <code>"true"</code> means the element is editable and a value of <code>"false"</code> means it isn't.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.isContentEditable")}} {{readonlyInline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("Boolean")}} that indicates whether or not the content of the element can be edited.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.contextMenu")}} {{deprecated_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("HTMLMenuElement")}} representing the contextual menu associated with the element. It may be <code>null</code>.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.dataset")}} {{readonlyInline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("DOMStringMap")}} with which script can read and write the element's <a href="/en-US/docs/Web/Guide/HTML/Using_data_attributes">custom data attributes</a> (<code>data-*</code>) .</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.dir")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}}, reflecting the <code>dir</code> global attribute, representing the directionality of the element. Possible values are <code>"ltr"</code>, <code>"rtl"</code>, and <code>"auto"</code>.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.draggable")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{jsxref("Boolean")}} indicating if the element can be dragged.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.dropzone")}} {{readonlyInline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("DOMSettableTokenList")}} reflecting the <code>dropzone</code> global attribute and describing the behavior of the element regarding a drop operation.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.hidden")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{jsxref("Boolean")}} indicating if the element is hidden or not.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.inert")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{jsxref("Boolean")}} indicating whether the user agent must act as though the given node is absent for the purposes of user interaction events, in-page text searches ("find in page"), and text selection.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.innerText")}}</dt>
 <dd>Represents the "rendered" text content of a node and its descendants. As a getter, it approximates the text the user would get if they highlighted the contents of the element with the cursor and then copied it to the clipboard.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.itemScope")}} {{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{jsxref("Boolean")}} representing the item scope.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.itemType")}} {{readonlyInline}}{{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("DOMSettableTokenList")}}…</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.itemId")}} {{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} representing the item ID.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.itemRef")}} {{readonlyInline}}{{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("DOMSettableTokenList")}}…</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.itemProp")}} {{readonlyInline}}{{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("DOMSettableTokenList")}}…</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.itemValue")}} {{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{jsxref("Object")}} representing the item value.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.lang")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} representing the language of an element's attributes, text, and element contents.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.noModule")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{jsxref("Boolean")}} indicating wether an import script can be executed in user agents that support module scripts.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.nonce")}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the cryptographic number used once that is used by Content Security Policy to determine whether a given fetch will be allowed to proceed.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.offsetHeight")}} {{readonlyInline}}{{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a <code>double</code> containing the height of an element, relative to the layout.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.offsetLeft")}}{{readonlyInline}}{{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a <code>double</code>, the distance from this element's left border to its <code>offsetParent</code>'s left border.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.offsetParent")}}{{readonlyInline}}{{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("Element")}} that is the element from which all offset calculations are currently computed.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.offsetTop")}}{{readonlyInline}}{{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a <code>double</code>, the distance from this element's top border to its <code>offsetParent</code>'s top border.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.offsetWidth")}}{{readonlyInline}}{{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a <code>double</code> containing the width of an element, relative to the layout.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.properties")}} {{readonlyInline}}{{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{domxref("HTMLPropertiesCollection")}}…</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.spellcheck")}}{{ gecko_minversion_inline("1.9")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{jsxref("Boolean")}} that controls <a href="/en-US/docs/HTML/Controlling_spell_checking_in_HTML_forms" title="en/Controlling_spell_checking_in_HTML_forms">spell-checking</a>. It is present on all HTML elements, though it doesn't have an effect on all of them.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.style")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("CSSStyleDeclaration")}}, an object representing the declarations of an element's style attributes.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.tabIndex")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a <code>long</code> representing the position of the element in the tabbing order.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.title")}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{domxref("DOMString")}} containing the text that appears in a popup box when mouse is over the element.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.translate")}} {{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Is a {{jsxref("Boolean")}} representing the translation.</dd>
</dl>

<h3 id="Event_handlers">Event handlers</h3>

<p>Most event handler properties, of the form <code>onXYZ</code>, are defined on the {{domxref("GlobalEventHandlers")}} or {{domxref("TouchEventHandlers")}} interfaces and implemented by <code>HTMLElement</code>. In addition, the following handlers are specific to <code>HTMLElement</code>.</p>

<dl>
 <dt>{{ domxref("HTMLElement.oncopy") }} {{ non-standard_inline() }}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the event handling code for the <code>copy</code> event ({{bug("280959")}}).</dd>
 <dt>{{ domxref("HTMLElement.oncut") }} {{ non-standard_inline() }}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the event handling code for the <code>cut</code> event ({{bug("280959")}}).</dd>
 <dt>{{ domxref("HTMLElement.onpaste") }} {{ non-standard_inline() }}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the event handling code for the <code>paste</code> event ({{bug("280959")}}).</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("TouchEventHandlers.ontouchstart")}} {{non-standard_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the event handling code for the {{event("touchstart")}} event.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("TouchEventHandlers.ontouchend")}} {{non-standard_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the event handling code for the {{event("touchend")}} event.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("TouchEventHandlers.ontouchmove")}} {{non-standard_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the event handling code for the {{event("touchmove")}} event.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("TouchEventHandlers.ontouchenter")}} {{non-standard_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the event handling code for the {{event("touchenter")}} event.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("TouchEventHandlers.ontouchleave")}} {{non-standard_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the event handling code for the {{event("touchleave")}} event.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("TouchEventHandlers.ontouchcancel")}} {{non-standard_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns the event handling code for the {{event("touchcancel")}} event.</dd>
</dl>

<h2 id="Methods">Methods</h2>

<p><em>Inherits methods from its parent, {{domxref("Element")}}.</em></p>

<dl>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.blur()")}}</dt>
 <dd>Removes keyboard focus from the currently focused element.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.click()")}}</dt>
 <dd>Sends a mouse click event to the element.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.focus()")}}</dt>
 <dd>Makes the element the current keyboard focus.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref("HTMLElement.forceSpellCheck()")}} {{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Runs the spell checker on the element's contents.</dd>
</dl>

<h2 id="Specifications">Specifications</h2>

<table class="standard-table">
 <thead>
  <tr>
   <th scope="col">Specification</th>
   <th scope="col">Status</th>
   <th scope="col">Comment</th>
  </tr>
 </thead>
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('CSSOM View', '#extensions-to-the-htmlelement-interface', 'HTMLElement')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('CSSOM View')}}</td>
   <td>Added the following properties: <code>offsetParent</code>, <code>offsetTop</code>, <code>offsetLeft</code>, <code>offsetWidth</code>, and <code>offsetHeight</code>.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('HTML WHATWG', 'elements.html#htmlelement', 'HTMLElement')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('HTML WHATWG')}}</td>
   <td>Added the following properties: <code>translate</code>, <code>itemScope</code>, <code>itemType</code>, <code>itemId</code>, <code>itemRef</code>, <code>itemProp</code>, <code>properties</code>, and <code>itemValue</code>.<br>
    Added the following method: <code>forceSpellcheck()</code>.<br>
    Moved the <code>onXYZ</code> attributes to the {{domxref("GlobalEventHandlers")}} interface and added an inheritance from it.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('HTML5 W3C', 'dom.html#htmlelement', 'HTMLElement')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('HTML5 W3C')}}</td>
   <td>Added the following properties: <code>dataset</code>, <code>hidden</code>, <code>tabindex</code>, <code>accessKey</code>, <code>accessKeyLabel</code>, <code>draggable</code>, <code>dropzone</code>, <code>contentEditable</code>, <code>isContentEditable</code>, <code>contextMenu</code>, <code>spellcheck</code>, <code>commandType</code>, <code>commandLabel</code>, <code>commandIcon</code>, <code>commandHidden</code>, <code>commandDisabled</code>, <code>commandChecked</code>, <code>style</code>, and all the <code>onXYZ</code> properties.<br>
    Moved the <code>id</code> and <code>className</code> properties to the {{domxref("Element")}} interface.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('DOM2 HTML', 'html.html#ID-011100101', 'HTMLElement')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('DOM2 HTML')}}</td>
   <td>No change from {{SpecName('DOM2 HTML')}}</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('DOM1', 'level-one-html.html#ID-011100101', 'HTMLElement')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('DOM1')}}</td>
   <td>Initial definition.</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

<h2 id="Browser_compatibility">Browser compatibility</h2>



<p>{{Compat("api.HTMLElement")}}</p>

<h2 id="See_also">See also</h2>

<ul>
 <li>{{domxref("Element")}}</li>
</ul>