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HTML select tag

Note: If you don't know what a tag is and/or how you must use it we recommend you to read our HTML tags and attributes tutorial that you can find in our HTML tutorials section.

Description

The HTML select tag creates a control through which users are able to select from a list of options (HTML option tag).

Attributes

id (name)

The "id" attribute assigns an identifier to the associated element. This identifier must be unique in the document and can be used to refer to that element.

Example:

Code begin
<p id="paragraph1">This is the first paragraph named as paragraph1. To dynamically change its properties use this identifier.</p>Code end

class (cdata)

The "class" attribute assigns a class name (or a list of class names separated by spaces) to the container element. It's used with style sheets and tells the browser the class to which the element is associated with. A class gives visual attributes to elements.

Example:

Code begin
<p class="references">This article is based on the book "Wind in the trees" by Jhon L. Brooks</p>

<p class="references important">This article is based on the book "Wind in the trees" by Jhon L. Brooks... and is more important than the one before.</p>Code end

style (style)

Defines a visual style of this element. Is a better practice to define styles attributes in external style sheets grouping them in classes. Attributes in the "style" parameter must preserve this order "name : value" and be separated by a semi-colon.

If you're writing XHTML code it's recommended not to use this attribute and try style sheet classes (with the "class" attribute).

Example:

Code begin
<p style="color: #0000FF; font-size: 12pt">This is a paragraph with a defined style</p>
<p>And this is another text without style.</p>Code end

title (text)

Indicates a title for the element. Used to give a short description about the element that is usually shown as a "tool tip" when the user put the mouse pointer over the element.

Example:

Code	View
<a title="HTMLQuick.com" href="http://www.htmlquick.com">HTML code</a>	HTML code

lang (langcode)

Specifies the language of an element's content. The default value in "unknown".

When writing XHTML code the syntax "xml:lang" represents a preferred alternative in XHTML 1.0 and a replacement in XHTML 1.1 (e.g., xml:lang="en").

Example:

Code begin
<p lang="en">This is a paragraph in english.</p>
<p lang="es">Este es un p&aacute;rrafo en espa&ntilde;ol.</p>Code end

dir

Specifies the text direction of the element's contents and attribute values, as well as tables directionality. It has two possible values that are case insensitive:

RTL: Right to left.
LTR: Left to right.

Example:

Code begin
<q lang="he" dir="rtl">...a Hebrew quotation...</q>Code end

disabled

When this attribute is set, the control is disabled, this means than it cannot get the focus, it's value cannot be changed and it will not be submitted with the form. Dependign on the browser, disabled element may be shown different.

Example:

Code	View
<form action="example.php"> <div> <input name="firstbutton" type="button" value="This is not disabled" /><br /><br /> <input name="secondbutton" type="button" value="This is disabled" disabled="disabled" /><br /><br /> <input name="secondtext" type="text" value="This is not disabled" /><br /><br /> <input name="firsttext" type="text" value="This is disabled" disabled="disabled" /> </div> </form>

tabindex (number)

Specifies the position of this element in the tabbing order. The tabbing order defines the sequence with all the elements than can receive the focus. Users can navigate this sequence via keyboard (usually with the "tab" key).

name (cdata)

Assigns a control name to the element.

size (number)

Sepecifies the number of rows that will be shown at the same time.

Code	View
<form action="example.asp"> <div> <select size="3"> <option>Option 1</option> <option>Option 2</option> <option>Option 3</option> <option>Option 4</option> </select> </div> </form>

multiple

When set, this boolean attribute allows users to select more than one option (usually by holding the CTRL key pressed).

Remember that boolean attributes must be defined as attr_name="attr_name" to be XHTML code compliant.

Example:

Code	View
<form action="example.php"> <div> <select multiple="multiple"> <option>Option 1</option> <option>Option 2</option> <option>Option 3</option> </select> </div> </form>

Events

onclick
ondblclick
onmousedown
onmouseup
onmouseover
onmousemove
onmouseout
onkeypress
onkeydown
onkeyup

See complete list and information about events in HTML

Examples

Common example.

Code	View
<form action="example.php"> <div> <select> <optgroup label="Server-side languages"> <option>PHP</option> <option>ASP</option> </optgroup> <optgroup label="Client-side languages"> <option>JavaScript</option> <option>VBScript</option> </optgroup> </select> </div> </form>

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