Checkboxes

Checkboxes are used to provide a list of options where more than one can be selected. Traditional desktop checkboxes are not optimized for touch input so in jQuery Mobile, we style the label for the checkboxes so they are larger and look clickable. A custom set of icons are added to the label to provide additional visual feedback.

The checkbox controls below use standard input/label markup, but are styled to be more touch-friendly. The styled control you see is actually the label element, which sits over the real input, so if images fail to load, you'll still have a functional control. In most browsers, clicking the label automatically triggers a click on the input, but we've had to trigger the update manually for a few mobile browsers that don't do this natively. On the desktop, these controls are keyboard and screen-reader accessible.

To create a single checkbox, add an input with a type="checkbox" attribute and a corresponding label. If the input isn't wrapped in its corresponding label, be sure to set the for attribute of the label to match the id of the input so they are semantically associated.

<label><input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-0"> I agree </label>
 
<input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-1" id="checkbox-1" class="custom">
<label for="checkbox-1">I agree</label>

The above snippets will produce two basic checkboxes. The default styles will set the width of the element to 100% of the parent container.

Mini version

For a more compact version that is useful in toolbars and tight spaces, add the data-mini="true" attribute to the element to create a mini version.

<input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-mini" id="checkbox-mini-1" class="custom" data-mini="true">
<label for="checkbox-mini-1">I agree</label>

This will produce a checkbox that is not as tall as the standard version and has a smaller text size.

Field containers & Legends

Optionally wrap the checkboxes in a container with class ui-field-contain to help visually group it in a longer form.

Because checkboxes use the label element for the text displayed next to the checkbox form element, we recommend wrapping the checkbox in a fieldset element that has a legend which acts as the title for the question. Add the data-role="controlgroup" attribute to the fieldset so it can be styled in a parallel way as text inputs, selects or other form elements.

<div class="ui-field-contain">
  <fieldset data-role="controlgroup">
    <legend>Agree to the terms:</legend>
    <input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-2" id="checkbox-2" class="custom">
    <label for="checkbox-2">I agree</label>
  </fieldset>
</div>

Vertically grouped checkboxes

Typically, there are multiple checkboxes listed under a question title. To visually integrate multiple checkboxes into a grouped button set, the framework will automatically remove all margins between buttons and round only the top and bottom corners of the set if there is a data-role="controlgroup" attribute on the fieldset.

<div class="ui-field-contain">
  <fieldset data-role="controlgroup">
    <legend>Choose as many snacks as you'd like:</legend>
      <input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-1a" id="checkbox-1a" class="custom">
      <label for="checkbox-1a">Cheetos</label>
 
      <input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-2a" id="checkbox-2a" class="custom">
      <label for="checkbox-2a">Doritos</label>
 
      <input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-3a" id="checkbox-3a" class="custom">
      <label for="checkbox-3a">Fritos</label>
 
      <input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-4a" id="checkbox-4a" class="custom">
      <label for="checkbox-4a">Sun Chips</label>
    </fieldset>
</div>

Horizontal toggle sets

Checkboxes can also be used for grouped button sets where more than one button can be selected at once, such as the bold, italic and underline button group seen in word processors. To make a horizontal button set, add the data-type="horizontal" to the fieldset.

<div class="ui-field-contain">
  <fieldset data-role="controlgroup" data-type="horizontal">
    <legend>Font styling:</legend>
    <input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-6" id="checkbox-6" class="custom">
    <label for="checkbox-6">b</label>
 
    <input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-7" id="checkbox-7" class="custom">
    <label for="checkbox-7"><em>i</em></label>
 
    <input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-8" id="checkbox-8" class="custom">
    <label for="checkbox-8">u</label>
  </fieldset>
</div>

The framework will float the labels so they sit side-by-side on a line, hide the checkbox icons and only round the left and right edges of the group.

Radio buttons

Radio buttons are used to provide a list of options where only a single item can be selected. Traditional desktop radio buttons are not optimized for touch input so jQuery Mobile styles the label for the radio buttons so they are larger and look clickable. A custom set of icons are added to the label to provide additional visual feedback.

The radio button controls below use standard input/label markup, but are styled to be more touch-friendly. The styled control you see is actually the label element, which sits over the real input, so if images fail to load, you'll still have a functional control. In most browsers, clicking the label automatically triggers a click on the input, but we've had to trigger the update manually for a few mobile browsers that don't do this natively. On the desktop, these controls are keyboard and screen-reader accessible.

Vertically grouped radio buttons

To create a set of radio buttons, add an input with a type="radio" attribute and a corresponding label. Set the for attribute of the label to match the id of the input so they are semantically associated.

The label element is displayed next to the radio form element. Wrap the radio buttons in a fieldset element that has a legend which acts as the title for the question.

To visually integrate multiple radio buttons into a vertically grouped button set, the framework will automatically remove all margins between buttons and round only the top and bottom corners of the set if there is a data-role="controlgroup" attribute on the container.

<fieldset data-role="controlgroup">
  <legend>Choose a pet:</legend>
  <input type="radio" name="radio-choice" id="radio-choice-1" value="choice-1" checked="checked">
  <label for="radio-choice-1">Cat</label>
 
  <input type="radio" name="radio-choice" id="radio-choice-2" value="choice-2">
  <label for="radio-choice-2">Dog</label>
 
  <input type="radio" name="radio-choice" id="radio-choice-3" value="choice-3">
  <label for="radio-choice-3">Hamster</label>
 
  <input type="radio" name="radio-choice" id="radio-choice-4" value="choice-4">
  <label for="radio-choice-4">Lizard</label>
</fieldset>

This will produce a vertically grouped radio button set. The default styles set the width of the button group to 100% of the parent container and stacks the label on a separate line.

Mini version

For a more compact version that is useful in toolbars and tight spaces, add the data-mini="true" attribute to the element to create a mini version.

<fieldset data-role="controlgroup" data-mini="true">
  <input type="radio" name="radio-mini" id="radio-mini-1" value="choice-1" checked="checked">
  <label for="radio-mini-1">Credit</label>
 
  <input type="radio" name="radio-mini" id="radio-mini-2" value="choice-2">
  <label for="radio-mini-2">Debit</label>
 
  <input type="radio" name="radio-mini" id="radio-mini-3" value="choice-3">
  <label for="radio-mini-3">Cash</label>
</fieldset>

This will produce a radio button that is not as tall as the standard version and has a smaller text size.

Field containers

Optionally wrap the radio buttons in a container with class ui-field-contain to help visually group it in a longer form.

<div class="ui-field-contain">
  <fieldset data-role="controlgroup">
    <legend>Choose a pet:</legend>
    <input type="radio" name="radio-choice-2" id="radio-choice-1" value="choice-1" checked="checked">
    <label for="radio-choice-1">Cat</label>
 
    <input type="radio" name="radio-choice-2" id="radio-choice-2" value="choice-2">
    <label for="radio-choice-2">Dog</label>
 
    <input type="radio" name="radio-choice-2" id="radio-choice-3" value="choice-3">
    <label for="radio-choice-3">Hamster</label>
 
    <input type="radio" name="radio-choice-2" id="radio-choice-4" value="choice-4">
    <label for="radio-choice-4">Lizard</label>
  </fieldset>
</div>

Horizontal radio button sets

Radio buttons can also be used for grouped button sets where only a single button can be selected at once, such as a view switcher control. To make a horizontal radio button set, add the data-type="horizontal" to the fieldset.

<fieldset data-role="controlgroup" data-type="horizontal">

The labels float so they sit side-by-side on a line. The radio button icons are hidden and only the left and right edges of the group are rounded.

The checkboxradio widget wraps the input element in a div and prepends the label element to the div.

In the example below, pre-rendered markup for a checkbox is provided. The attribute data-corners="false" is explicitly specified, since the absence of the ui-corner-all class on the label element indicates that the value of the "corners" widget option is to be false.

<div class="ui-checkbox">
  <label for="my-checkbox" class="ui-btn ui-btn-inherit ui-btn-icon-left ui-checkbox-off">My Checkbox</label>
  <input type="checkbox" id="my-checkbox" data-corners="false" data-enhanced="true"></input>
</div>