diff --git a/src/Element.js b/src/Element.js
index 17c890c388..91385e9bac 100644
--- a/src/Element.js
+++ b/src/Element.js
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ export default class Element {
    *
    * @param {string} event - The event you wish to register the handler for.
    * @param {function} cb - The callback handler to handle this event.
+   * @param {boolean} [internal] - This is an internal event handler.
+   * @param {boolean} [once] - This event should only fire once.
    */
   on(event, cb, internal, once = false) {
     if (!this.events) {
diff --git a/src/WebformBuilder.js b/src/WebformBuilder.js
index 857223a819..ea86442243 100644
--- a/src/WebformBuilder.js
+++ b/src/WebformBuilder.js
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ export default class WebformBuilder extends Component {
         return element;
       }
       // Attach container and component to element for later reference.
-      const containerElement = element.querySelector(`[ref="${component.component.key}-container"]`) || element;
+      const containerElement = element.querySelector(`[${this._referenceAttributeName}="${component.component.key}-container"]`) || element;
       containerElement.formioContainer = container;
       containerElement.formioComponent = component;
 
@@ -1175,7 +1175,7 @@ export default class WebformBuilder extends Component {
 
       this.preview.form.components.forEach(component => this.replaceDoubleQuotes(component, fieldsToRemoveDoubleQuotes));
 
-      const previewElement = this.componentEdit.querySelector('[ref="preview"]');
+      const previewElement = this.componentEdit.querySelector(`[${this._referenceAttributeName}="preview"]`);
       if (previewElement) {
         this.setContent(previewElement, this.preview.render(), null, sanitizeConfig);
         this.preview.attach(previewElement);
@@ -1384,7 +1384,7 @@ export default class WebformBuilder extends Component {
   }
 
   attachEditComponentControls(component, parent, isNew, original, ComponentClass) {
-    const cancelButtons = this.componentEdit.querySelectorAll('[ref="cancelButton"]');
+    const cancelButtons = this.componentEdit.querySelectorAll(`[${this._referenceAttributeName}="cancelButton"]`);
     cancelButtons.forEach((cancelButton) => {
       this.editForm.addEventListener(cancelButton, 'click', (event) => {
         event.preventDefault();
@@ -1395,7 +1395,7 @@ export default class WebformBuilder extends Component {
       });
     });
 
-    const removeButtons = this.componentEdit.querySelectorAll('[ref="removeButton"]');
+    const removeButtons = this.componentEdit.querySelectorAll(`[${this._referenceAttributeName}="removeButton"]`);
     removeButtons.forEach((removeButton) => {
       this.editForm.addEventListener(removeButton, 'click', (event) => {
         event.preventDefault();
@@ -1408,7 +1408,7 @@ export default class WebformBuilder extends Component {
       });
     });
 
-    const saveButtons = this.componentEdit.querySelectorAll('[ref="saveButton"]');
+    const saveButtons = this.componentEdit.querySelectorAll(`[${this._referenceAttributeName}="saveButton"]`);
     saveButtons.forEach((saveButton) => {
       this.editForm.addEventListener(saveButton, 'click', (event) => {
         event.preventDefault();
@@ -1425,7 +1425,7 @@ export default class WebformBuilder extends Component {
       });
     });
 
-    const previewButtons = this.componentEdit.querySelectorAll('[ref="previewButton"]');
+    const previewButtons = this.componentEdit.querySelectorAll(`[${this._referenceAttributeName}="previewButton"]`);
     previewButtons.forEach((previewButton) => {
       this.editForm.addEventListener(previewButton, 'click', (event) => {
         event.preventDefault();
@@ -1438,7 +1438,7 @@ export default class WebformBuilder extends Component {
           showPreview: this.showPreview,
           helplinks: this.helplinks,
         }));
-        this.editForm.attach(this.componentEdit.querySelector('[ref="editForm"]'));
+        this.editForm.attach(this.componentEdit.querySelector(`[${this._referenceAttributeName}="editForm"]`));
         this.attachEditComponentControls(component, parent, isNew, original, ComponentClass);
       });
     });
@@ -1556,7 +1556,7 @@ export default class WebformBuilder extends Component {
     this.dialog = this.createModal(this.componentEdit, _.get(this.options, 'dialogAttr', {}));
 
     // This is the attach step.
-    this.editForm.attach(this.componentEdit.querySelector('[ref="editForm"]'));
+    this.editForm.attach(this.componentEdit.querySelector(`[${this._referenceAttributeName}="editForm"]`));
 
     this.hook('editFormWrapper');
 
diff --git a/src/components/_classes/component/Component.js b/src/components/_classes/component/Component.js
index e3016006a1..9daa721c25 100644
--- a/src/components/_classes/component/Component.js
+++ b/src/components/_classes/component/Component.js
@@ -386,6 +386,11 @@ export default class Component extends Element {
     this._visible = this._parentVisible && this.conditionallyVisible(null, data);
     this._parentDisabled = false;
 
+    /**
+     * The reference attribute name for this component
+     */
+    this._referenceAttributeName = 'ref';
+
     /**
      * Used to trigger a new change in this component.
      * @type {function} - Call to trigger a change in this component.
@@ -910,15 +915,15 @@ export default class Component extends Element {
     const templatesByName = Templates.defaultTemplates[name];
 
     if (!templatesByName) {
-      return `Unknown template: ${name}`;
+      return { template: `Unknown template: ${name}` };
     }
 
     const templateByMode = this.checkTemplateMode(templatesByName, modes);
     if (templateByMode) {
-      return templateByMode;
+      return { template: templateByMode };
     }
 
-    return templatesByName.form;
+    return { template: templatesByName.form };
   }
 
   checkTemplate(templates, names, modes) {
@@ -926,9 +931,10 @@ export default class Component extends Element {
       const templatesByName = templates[name];
 
       if (templatesByName) {
+        const { referenceAttributeName } = templatesByName;
         const templateByMode = this.checkTemplateMode(templatesByName, modes);
         if (templateByMode) {
-          return templateByMode;
+          return { template: templateByMode, referenceAttributeName };
         }
       }
     }
@@ -995,9 +1001,13 @@ export default class Component extends Element {
     ];
 
     // Allow template alters.
+    const { referenceAttributeName, template } = this.getTemplate(names, mode);
+    if (referenceAttributeName) {
+      this._referenceAttributeName = referenceAttributeName;
+    }
     return this.hook(
       `render${name.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + name.substring(1, name.length)}`,
-      this.interpolate(this.getTemplate(names, mode), data),
+      this.interpolate(template, data),
       data,
       mode
     );
@@ -1138,12 +1148,20 @@ export default class Component extends Element {
     return currentTimezone();
   }
 
-  loadRefs(element, refs) {
+  /**
+   *
+   * @param {HTMLElement} element - The containing DOM element to query for the ref value.
+   * @param {object} refs - The references to load.
+   * @param {string} [referenceAttributeName] - The attribute name to use for the reference.
+   */
+  loadRefs(element, refs, referenceAttributeName) {
     for (const ref in refs) {
       const refType = refs[ref];
       const isString = typeof refType === 'string';
 
-      const selector = isString && refType.includes('scope') ? `:scope > [ref="${ref}"]` : `[ref="${ref}"]`;
+      const selector = isString && refType.includes('scope')
+        ? `:scope > [${referenceAttributeName || this._referenceAttributeName || 'ref'}="${ref}"]`
+        : `[${referenceAttributeName || this._referenceAttributeName || 'ref'}="${ref}"]`;
 
       if (isString && refType.startsWith('single')) {
         this.refs[ref] = element.querySelector(selector);
@@ -1230,7 +1248,7 @@ export default class Component extends Element {
   }
 
   createComponentModal(element, modalShouldBeOpened, currentValue) {
-    return new ComponentModal(this, element, modalShouldBeOpened, currentValue);
+    return new ComponentModal(this, element, modalShouldBeOpened, currentValue, this._referenceAttributeName);
   }
 
   attach(element) {
diff --git a/src/components/_classes/componentModal/ComponentModal.js b/src/components/_classes/componentModal/ComponentModal.js
index 8268683ca5..019988ff0f 100644
--- a/src/components/_classes/componentModal/ComponentModal.js
+++ b/src/components/_classes/componentModal/ComponentModal.js
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@ export default class ComponentModal {
     });
   }
 
-  constructor(component, element, isOpened, currentValue) {
+  constructor(component, element, isOpened, currentValue, referenceAttributeName = 'ref') {
+    this._referenceAttributeName = referenceAttributeName;
     this.isOpened = isOpened;
     this.component = component;
     this.element = element;
@@ -165,10 +166,10 @@ export default class ComponentModal {
   showDialog() {
     this.dialogElement = this.component.ce('div');
     const dialogContent = `
-      <h3 ref="dialogHeader">${this.component.t('Do you want to clear changes?')}</h3>
+      <h3 ${this._referenceAttributeName}="dialogHeader">${this.component.t('Do you want to clear changes?')}</h3>
       <div style="display:flex; justify-content: flex-end;">
-        <button ref="dialogCancelButton" class="btn btn-secondary">${this.component.t('Cancel')}</button>
-        <button ref="dialogYesButton" class="btn btn-danger">${this.component.t('Yes, delete it')}</button>
+        <button ${this._referenceAttributeName}="dialogCancelButton" class="btn btn-secondary">${this.component.t('Cancel')}</button>
+        <button ${this._referenceAttributeName}="dialogYesButton" class="btn btn-danger">${this.component.t('Yes, delete it')}</button>
       </div>
     `;
 
diff --git a/src/components/_classes/input/Input.js b/src/components/_classes/input/Input.js
index b6cbf7e02f..ba3ba94fda 100644
--- a/src/components/_classes/input/Input.js
+++ b/src/components/_classes/input/Input.js
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ export default class Input extends Multivalue {
       }).trim();
       if (this.component.prefix !== calendarIcon) {
         // converting string to HTML markup to render correctly DateTime component in portal.form.io
-        return convertStringToHTMLElement(calendarIcon, '[ref="icon"]');
+        return convertStringToHTMLElement(calendarIcon, `[${this._referenceAttributeName}="icon"]`);
       }
     }
     return this.component.suffix;
diff --git a/src/components/_classes/multivalue/Multivalue.js b/src/components/_classes/multivalue/Multivalue.js
index 4cf3ef5abf..03e8d971c4 100644
--- a/src/components/_classes/multivalue/Multivalue.js
+++ b/src/components/_classes/multivalue/Multivalue.js
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ export default class Multivalue extends Field {
     // If single value field.
     if (!this.useWrapper()) {
       return super.render(
-        `<div ref="element">
+        `<div ${this._referenceAttributeName}="element">
           ${this.renderElement(
             this.component.type !== 'hidden' ? this.dataValue : ''
           )}
diff --git a/src/components/datagrid/DataGrid.js b/src/components/datagrid/DataGrid.js
index 56e615de88..fa029029ca 100644
--- a/src/components/datagrid/DataGrid.js
+++ b/src/components/datagrid/DataGrid.js
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ export default class DataGridComponent extends NestedArrayComponent {
     super.loadRefs(element, refs);
 
     if (refs['messageContainer'] === 'single') {
-      const container = _.last(element.querySelectorAll('[ref=messageContainer]'));
+      const container = _.last(element.querySelectorAll(`[${this._referenceAttributeName}=messageContainer]`));
       this.refs['messageContainer'] = container || this.refs['messageContainer'];
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/components/editgrid/EditGrid.js b/src/components/editgrid/EditGrid.js
index d62aa44a94..500e09fbf6 100644
--- a/src/components/editgrid/EditGrid.js
+++ b/src/components/editgrid/EditGrid.js
@@ -129,10 +129,10 @@ export default class EditGridComponent extends NestedArrayComponent {
 
   get defaultDialogTemplate() {
     return `
-    <h3 ref="dialogHeader">${this.t('Do you want to clear data?')}</h3>
+    <h3 ${this._referenceAttributeName}="dialogHeader">${this.t('Do you want to clear data?')}</h3>
     <div style="display:flex; justify-content: flex-end;">
-      <button ref="dialogCancelButton" class="btn btn-secondary" aria-label="${this.t('Cancel')}">${this.t('Cancel')}</button>
-      <button ref="dialogYesButton" class="btn btn-danger" aria-label="${this.t('Yes, delete it')}">${this.t('Yes, delete it')}</button>
+      <button ${this._referenceAttributeName}="dialogCancelButton" class="btn btn-secondary" aria-label="${this.t('Cancel')}">${this.t('Cancel')}</button>
+      <button ${this._referenceAttributeName}="dialogYesButton" class="btn btn-danger" aria-label="${this.t('Yes, delete it')}">${this.t('Yes, delete it')}</button>
     </div>
   `;
   }
diff --git a/src/components/form/Form.js b/src/components/form/Form.js
index 9d2eea961b..0141cb6c6e 100644
--- a/src/components/form/Form.js
+++ b/src/components/form/Form.js
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ export default class FormComponent extends Component {
           if (!this.builderMode && this.component.modalEdit) {
             const modalShouldBeOpened = this.componentModal ? this.componentModal.isOpened : false;
             const currentValue = modalShouldBeOpened ? this.componentModal.currentValue : this.dataValue;
-            this.componentModal = new ComponentModal(this, element, modalShouldBeOpened, currentValue);
+            this.componentModal = new ComponentModal(this, element, modalShouldBeOpened, currentValue, this._referenceAttributeName);
             this.setOpenModalElement();
           }
 
diff --git a/src/components/signature/Signature.js b/src/components/signature/Signature.js
index 7549230af2..d493fb2918 100644
--- a/src/components/signature/Signature.js
+++ b/src/components/signature/Signature.js
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ export default class SignatureComponent extends Input {
   getModalPreviewTemplate() {
     return this.renderTemplate('modalPreview', {
       previewText: this.dataValue ?
-        `<img src=${this.dataValue} ref='openModal' style="width: 100%;height: 100%;" />` :
+        `<img src=${this.dataValue} ${this._referenceAttributeName}='openModal' style="width: 100%;height: 100%;" />` :
         this.t('Click to Sign')
     });
   }
diff --git a/src/components/textarea/TextArea.js b/src/components/textarea/TextArea.js
index 3639aedafe..cb64c9d41b 100644
--- a/src/components/textarea/TextArea.js
+++ b/src/components/textarea/TextArea.js
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ export default class TextAreaComponent extends TextFieldComponent {
     info.content = value;
     if ((this.options.readOnly || this.disabled) && !this.isHtmlRenderMode()) {
       const elementStyle = this.info.attr.style || '';
-      const children = `<div ref="input" class="formio-editor-read-only-content" ${elementStyle ? `style='${elementStyle}'` : ''}></div>`;
+      const children = `<div ${this._referenceAttributeName}="input" class="formio-editor-read-only-content" ${elementStyle ? `style='${elementStyle}'` : ''}></div>`;
 
       return this.renderTemplate('well', {
         children,