What happens if the action field in a <form> has parameters?

Question

Is there a well-supported, common behavior that I can expect if I do something like this in HTML:

<form method="get" action="/somePage.html?param1=foo&param2=foo"> <input name="param2"></input> <input name="param3"></input> </form>

Seems like this sort of thing is inherently ridiculous, but I've seen it used here and there and I was wondering what on Earth the expected behavior should be. Are browsers smart enough to tack on "&param2=whatever&param3=whatever" to the action, or do they just throw in a second question mark? Or what? Are there cases where this is actually the right way to do things?

If you are using apache and need workaround, [there are one in another stackoverflow answer][1] [1]: stackoverflow.com/questions/1116019/… — wanis
– wanis, Commented May 7, 2013 at 9:56
Does this answer your question? When submitting a GET form, the query string is removed from the action URL — miken32
– miken32, Commented Jun 7, 2021 at 22:42

Rex M · Accepted Answer · 2009-04-09 01:50:56Z

73

If the method attribute is set to GET, the browser drops the querystring parameters from the action attribute before constructing the form argument values.

So in your example, the request to the server on submit will look like: /somePage.html?param2=value&param3=value

So no, when the method is "GET", as in your example, there's no reason to do this.

edited Apr 9, 2009 at 1:50

answered Apr 9, 2009 at 0:26

Rex M

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5 Comments

thomasrutter Over a year ago

and if the method attribute were set to POST, then both would be preserved. The request to the server would have param1=foo&param2=foo on the query string, and param2 (with different value) and param3 as posted form values.

Rex M Over a year ago

@thomasrutter quite right! I think that's slightly outside the scope of this discussion. The interesting part is the obvious collision.

Brandon Yarbrough Over a year ago

@Rex - I think it's fascinating that the behavior is different for GET and POST. That I did not expect. Is there a logical reason why?

Rex M Over a year ago

@CaptainAwesomePants - by definition, using "GET" requires use of the querystring. The easiest way to handle it risk-free is to blow away anything first. POST has no need for the querystring, so no need to remove it to make room.

WoooHaaaa Over a year ago

If there's no param2 in the input fields, will it still drops param2 first ?

Luke · Accepted Answer · 2013-08-22 01:03:41Z

Not sure, but I think it's better practice to place those variables in hidden input fields. This way it doesn't matter if your posting method is either POST or GET.

<form method="get" action="/somePage.html"> <input name="param2"></input> <input name="param3"></input> <input type="hidden" name="param1" value="foo" /> <input type="hidden" name="param2" value="foo" /> </form>

How do I specify nameless parameter like ssrs/ReportServer/Pages/ReportViewer.aspx?/Folder1/…?
There is no such thing as nameless parameter; you can have a valueless parameter. Like &param1=foo&param2&param3=bar.

Guffa · Accepted Answer · 2009-04-09 23:10:03Z

You could change the method attribute in the form to "POST" with script before posting the form, so there could be a use for the query string in the action. It hardly seems to be the best solution for anything, though.

Mark · Accepted Answer · 2009-04-09 01:48:01Z

Well, all the questions have been answered except the last, to which the answer is yes. For POST, it's allowed, but you may well find cases where it doesn't work. I've seen web servers that only allow postdata or querystring, so it's not dependable.

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