HTMLSelectElement
The HTMLSelectElement
interface represents a <select>
HTML Element. These elements also share all of the properties and methods of other HTML elements via the HTMLElement
interface.
Instance properties
This interface inherits the properties of HTMLElement
, and of Element
and Node
.
HTMLSelectElement.autofocus
-
A boolean value reflecting the
autofocus
HTML attribute, which indicates whether the control should have input focus when the page loads, unless the user overrides it, for example by typing in a different control. Only one form-associated element in a document can have this attribute specified. HTMLSelectElement.disabled
-
A boolean value reflecting the
disabled
HTML attribute, which indicates whether the control is disabled. If it is disabled, it does not accept clicks. HTMLSelectElement.form
Read only-
An
HTMLFormElement
referencing the form that this element is associated with. If the element is not associated with of a<form>
element, then it returnsnull
. HTMLSelectElement.labels
Read onlyHTMLSelectElement.length
-
An
unsigned long
The number of<option>
elements in thisselect
element. HTMLSelectElement.multiple
-
A boolean value reflecting the
multiple
HTML attribute, which indicates whether multiple items can be selected. HTMLSelectElement.name
-
A string reflecting the
name
HTML attribute, containing the name of this control used by servers and DOM search functions. HTMLSelectElement.options
Read only-
An
HTMLOptionsCollection
representing the set of<option>
(HTMLOptionElement
) elements contained by this element. HTMLSelectElement.required
-
A boolean value reflecting the
required
HTML attribute, which indicates whether the user is required to select a value before submitting the form. HTMLSelectElement.selectedIndex
-
A
long
reflecting the index of the first selected<option>
element. The value-1
indicates no element is selected. HTMLSelectElement.selectedOptions
Read only-
An
HTMLCollection
representing the set of<option>
elements that are selected. HTMLSelectElement.size
-
A
long
reflecting thesize
HTML attribute, which contains the number of visible items in the control. The default is 1, unlessmultiple
istrue
, in which case it is 4. HTMLSelectElement.type
Read only-
A string representing the form control's type. When
multiple
istrue
, it returns"select-multiple"
; otherwise, it returns"select-one"
. HTMLSelectElement.validationMessage
Read only-
A string representing a localized message that describes the validation constraints that the control does not satisfy (if any). This attribute is the empty string if the control is not a candidate for constraint validation (
willValidate
is false), or it satisfies its constraints. HTMLSelectElement.validity
Read only-
A
ValidityState
reflecting the validity state that this control is in. HTMLSelectElement.value
-
A string reflecting the value of the form control. Returns the
value
property of the first selected option element if there is one, otherwise the empty string. HTMLSelectElement.willValidate
Read only-
A boolean value that indicates whether the button is a candidate for constraint validation. It is
false
if any conditions bar it from constraint validation.
Instance methods
This interface inherits the methods of HTMLElement
, and of Element
and Node
.
HTMLSelectElement.add()
-
Adds an element to the collection of
option
elements for thisselect
element. HTMLSelectElement.blur()
Deprecated-
Removes input focus from this element. This method is now implemented on
HTMLElement
. HTMLSelectElement.checkValidity()
-
Checks whether the element has any constraints and whether it satisfies them. If the element fails its constraints, the browser fires a cancelable
invalid
event at the element (and returnsfalse
). HTMLSelectElement.focus()
Deprecated-
Gives input focus to this element. This method is now implemented on
HTMLElement
. HTMLSelectElement.item()
-
Gets an item from the options collection for this
<select>
element. You can also access an item by specifying the index in array-style brackets or parentheses, without calling this method explicitly. HTMLSelectElement.namedItem()
-
Gets the item in the options collection with the specified name. The name string can match either the
id
or thename
attribute of an option node. You can also access an item by specifying the name in array-style brackets or parentheses, without calling this method explicitly. HTMLSelectElement.remove()
-
Removes the element at the specified index from the options collection for this
select
element. HTMLSelectElement.reportValidity()
-
This method reports the problems with the constraints on the element, if any, to the user. If there are problems, it fires a cancelable
invalid
event at the element, and returnsfalse
; if there are no problems, it returnstrue
. HTMLSelectElement.setCustomValidity()
-
Sets the custom validity message for the selection element to the specified message. Use the empty string to indicate that the element does not have a custom validity error.
Events
Listen to these events using addEventListener()
or by assigning an event listener to the oneventname
property of this interface:
change
event-
Fires when the user selects an option.
input
event-
Fires when the
value
of an<input>
,<select>
, or<textarea>
element has been changed.
Example
Get information about the selected option
js
/* assuming we have the following HTML
<select id='s'>
<option>First</option>
<option selected>Second</option>
<option>Third</option>
</select>
*/
const select = document.getElementById("s");
// return the index of the selected option
console.log(select.selectedIndex); // 1
// return the value of the selected option
console.log(select.options[select.selectedIndex].value); // Second
A better way to track changes to the user's selection is to watch for the change
event to occur on the <select>
. This will tell you when the value changes, and you can then update anything you need to. See the example provided in the documentation for the change
event for details.
Specifications
Specification |
---|
HTML Standard # htmlselectelement |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
- The
<select>
HTML element, which implements this interface.