:file Selector

Categories: Selectors > Form | Selectors > jQuery Extensions

file selector

Description: Selects all elements of type file.

  • version added: 1.0jQuery( ":file" )

:file is equivalent to [type="file"]. As with other pseudo-class selectors (those that begin with a ":") it is recommended to precede it with a tag name or some other selector; otherwise, the universal selector ("*") is implied. In other words, the bare $( ":file" ) is equivalent to $("*:file" ), so $( "input:file" ) should be used instead.

Additional Notes:

  • Because :file is a jQuery extension and not part of the CSS specification, queries using :file cannot take advantage of the performance boost provided by the native DOM querySelectorAll() method. For better performance in modern browsers, use [type="file"] instead.

Example:

Finds all file inputs.

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<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>file demo</title>
  <style>
  textarea {
    height: 45px;
  }
  </style>
  <script src="jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
 
<form>
  <input type="button" value="Input Button">
  <input type="checkbox">
  <input type="file">
  <input type="hidden">
  <input type="image">
  <input type="password">
  <input type="radio">
  <input type="reset">
  <input type="submit">
  <input type="text">
  <select><option>Option</option></select>
  <textarea></textarea>
  <button>Button</button>
</form>
<div></div>
 
<script>
var input = $( "input:file" ).css({
  background: "yellow",
  border: "3px red solid"
});
$( "div" )
  .text( "For this type jQuery found " + input.length + "." )
  .css( "color", "red" );
$( "form" ).submit(function( event ) {
  event.preventDefault();
});
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

Demo: