Disable a Button in JavaScript

May 25, 2020

In JavaScript, button elements have a disabled property that you can set to prevent clicking on the button. For example, suppose you have a button that shows an alert when you click it:

<button id="my-alert-button">Show Alert</button>
<script>
  document.querySelector('#my-alert-button').addEventListener('click', function() {
    alert('Clicked on button!');
  });
</script>

Here's a live version of the above button.

If you set a disabled property on the button, clicking the button won't do anything.

<button id="my-alert-button">Disabled Button</button>
<script>
  document.querySelector('#my-alert-button').addEventListener('click', function() {
    alert('Clicked on button!');
  });
  // Now clicking on the button won't do anything
  document.querySelector('#my-alert-button').disabled = true;
</script>

With Forms

Buttons can also be used to submit forms. For example, clicking on the below button triggers a 'submit' event on my-form. Hitting the "enter" key while the text input has focus also submits the form.

<form id="my-form">
  <input type="text" placeholder="Sample Input">
  <button type="submit">Submit Form</button>
</form>
<script>
  document.querySelector('#my-form').addEventListener('submit', function(ev) {
    ev.preventDefault();
    alert('Form submitted!');
  });
</script>

However, if you disable the button, you also disable submitting the form. Note that you don't get a 'submit' event on my-form below when you click on the button, nor when you hit "enter" while the text input has focus.

<form id="my-form">
  <input type="text" placeholder="Sample Input">
  <button type="submit">Submit Form</button>
</form>
<script>
  document.querySelector('#my-form').addEventListener('submit', function(ev) {
    ev.preventDefault();
    alert('Form submitted!');
  });
  document.querySelector('#my-form button').disabled = true;
</script>

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