Set a Checkbox to Checked/Unchecked using TypeScript

# Table of Contents

# Set a Checkbox to Checked/Unchecked using TypeScript

To set a checkbox to checked/unchecked in TypeScript:

Select the checkbox element.
Type the element as HTMLInputElement using a type assertion.
Use the element's checked property to set the checkbox to checked or unchecked.

This is the index.html file for the examples.

index.html

Copied!
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  </head>
  <body>
    <input type="checkbox" name="subscribe" id="subscribe" />

    <script src="./src/index.ts"></script>
  </body>
</html>

And here is the related TypeScript code.

src/index.ts

Copied!
const checkbox = document.getElementById(
  'subscribe',
) as HTMLInputElement | null;

if (checkbox != null) {
  // ✅ Set checkbox checked
  checkbox.checked = true;

  // ✅ Set checkbox unchecked
  // checkbox.checked = false;
}

set checkbox checked in typescript

The code for this article is available on GitHub

We used a type assertion to type the checkbox variable as HTMLInputElement or null.

If you're working with an option or select element, you can use the HTMLOptionElement or HTMLSelectElement types.

The reason we included null in the type is that the document.getElementById method will return null if no element with the provided id is found in the DOM.

We make sure that the checkbox variable does not store a null value before accessing its checked property.

Once we enter the if block, TypeScript knows that the type of the checked variable is HTMLInputElement and not HTMLInputElement | null.

If you are certain that the element will exist in the DOM, you can omit null from the type in the type assertion.

Now we are able to access the checked property on the element because we've typed it correctly.

The property can be used to read or set the checked state of the checkbox element.

If you need to uncheck the checkbox, set its checked property to false.

src/index.ts

Copied!
const checkbox = document.getElementById(
  'subscribe',
) as HTMLInputElement | null;

if (checkbox != null) {
  // ✅ Set checkbox checked
  checkbox.checked = true;

  // 👇️ true
  console.log(checkbox.checked);

  // ✅ Set checkbox unchecked
  checkbox.checked = false;
}

The code for this article is available on GitHub

It's always a best practice to include null in the type assertion because the getElementById() method would return null if no element with the provided id was found.

# Check if a checkbox element is checked using TypeScript

To check if a checkbox element is checked in TypeScript:

Type the element as HTMLInputElement using a type assertion.
Use the checked property to see if the element is checked.
The property will return true if it is checked and false otherwise.

This is the index.html file for the examples.

index.html

Copied!
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  </head>
  <body>
    <input type="checkbox" name="subscribe" id="subscribe" />

    <script src="./src/index.ts"></script>
  </body>
</html>

And here is the related TypeScript code.

src/index.ts

Copied!
const checkbox = document.getElementById(
  'subscribe',
) as HTMLInputElement | null;

if (checkbox?.checked) {
  console.log('Checkbox is checked');
} else {
  console.log('Checkbox is NOT checked');
}

console.log(checkbox?.checked); // 👉️ false

if (checkbox != null) {
  checkbox.checked = true;
}

console.log(checkbox?.checked); // 👉️ true

check if checkbox is checked in typescript

The code for this article is available on GitHub

We used a type assertion to type the checkbox variable as HTMLInputElement or null.

If you're working with an option or select element, you can use the HTMLOptionElement or HTMLSelectElement types.

The reason we included null in the type is that the document.getElementById method will return null if no element with the provided id is found in the DOM.

If you are certain that the element will exist in the DOM, you can omit null from the type in the type assertion.

Now we are able to access the checked property on the element because we've typed it correctly.

The checked property returns a boolean result - true if the checkbox is checked and false otherwise.

We used the optional chaining (?.) operator to short-circuit if the reference is null or undefined.

src/index.ts

Copied!
const checkbox = document.getElementById(
  'subscribe',
) as HTMLInputElement | null;

// 👇️ optional chaining
if (checkbox?.checked) {
  console.log('Checkbox is checked');
} else {
  console.log('Checkbox is NOT checked');
}

The optional chaining (?.) operator short-circuits returning undefined if the reference is nullish.

In other words if the checkbox variable stores a null value, we won't attempt to access the checked property and get a runtime error.

# Using a simple `if` statement as a type guard

We could have also used a simple if statement that serves as a type guard.

src/index.ts

Copied!
const checkbox = document.getElementById(
  'subscribe',
) as HTMLInputElement | null;

if (checkbox != null) {
  if (checkbox.checked) {
    console.log('Checkbox is checked');
  } else {
    console.log('Checkbox is NOT checked');
  }
}

using simple if statement as type guard

The code for this article is available on GitHub

We explicitly make sure that the checkbox variable does not store a null value before accessing its checked property.

Once we enter the if block, TypeScript knows that the type of the checked variable is HTMLInputElement and not HTMLInputElement | null.

It's always a best practice to include null in the type assertion because the getElementById() method would return null if no element with the provided id was found.

# Additional Resources

You can learn more about the related topics by checking out the following tutorials:

I wrote a book in which I share everything I know about how to become a better, more efficient programmer.

You can use the search field on my Home Page to filter through all of my articles.

Set a Checkbox to Checked/Unchecked using TypeScript

# Table of Contents