onmousedown Event

Call a function when pressing a mouse button over a paragraph:

<p onmousedown="myFunction()">Click the text!</p>

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:

Events order for the right mouse button:

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

In HTML:

<element onmousedown="myScript">

In JavaScript:

object.onmousedown = function(){myScript};

In JavaScript, using the addEventListener() method:

object.addEventListener("mousedown", myScript);

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

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.

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