onmousedown Event
Example
Call a function when pressing a mouse button over a paragraph:
<p onmousedown="myFunction()">Click the text!</p>
Try it Yourself »
More examples below.
Description
The onmousedown event occurs when a user presses a mouse button
over an HTML element.
Events order for the left and middle mouse button:
- onmousedown
- onmouseup
- onclick
Events order for the right mouse button:
- onmousedown
- onmouseup
- oncontextmenu
Mouse Events
| Event | Occurs When |
|---|---|
| onclick | The user clicks on an element |
| oncontextmenu | The user right-clicks on an element |
| ondblclick | The user double-clicks on an element |
| onmousedown | A mouse button is pressed over an element |
| onmouseenter | The pointer is moved onto an element |
| onmouseleave | The pointer is moved out of an element |
| onmousemove | The pointer is moving over an element |
| onmouseout | The mouse pointer moves out of an element |
| onmouseover | The mouse pointer is moved over an element |
| onmouseup | The mouse button is released over an element |
See Also:
Tutorial:
Syntax
In JavaScript, using the addEventListener() method:
object.addEventListener("mousedown", myScript);
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Technical Details
| Bubbles: | Yes |
|---|---|
| Cancelable: | Yes |
| Event type: | MouseEvent |
| HTML tags: | All HTML elements, EXCEPT: <base>, <bdo>, <br>, <head>, <html>, <iframe>, <meta>, <param>, <script>, <style>, and <title> |
| DOM Version: | Level 2 Events |
More Examples
Trigger a function with parameters when the button is pressed down
When the mouse button is pressed down over a <p> element, change its color to red.
Alert which mouse button that was pressed
Alert which mouse button the user pressed.
Alert the element the user clicked on
Alert the name of the element the user clicked on.
Browser Support
onmousedown is a DOM Level 2 (2001) feature.
It is fully supported in all browsers:
| Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Safari | Opera | IE |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9-11 |
