I have an input field that is by default set to type="text" so that the word Password can be displayed in it. I have the following to change it to a password field when the user selects it, which works fine in any browser I have tried except Internet Explorer.
onfocus="this.type='password';"
How would I go about making this work in IE?
IE does not like to change the type of an element dynamically, one solution might be to replace the element entirely. However I would suggest you just use a input type password so any non js users would still get the same functionality and live without the watermark.
What effect are you trying to achieve? Do you want the initial password to be visible, but when they go to enter a new one, it's obscured? If so, you might want to simply replace the element with a password input, copying the value.
You are better off using a <label> with the text "password" rather than displaying it inside the control itself. You can make the label appear like it is inside the textbox using css. A List Apart has a good article on this sort of thing: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/makingcompactformsmoreaccessible/