| Depr. | Version |
|---|---|
| No | HTML 2 |
| IE5.5+ | FF1+ | SA1.3+ | OP9.2+ | CH2+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
Syntax
Description
The
selected attribute is used to preselect an
option in a select list, usually at
page-load time (although you could use JavaScript to change the selected
option dynamically, after page load).
You might use this attribute when an error is found in a
user-submitted form, and you want
the user to reenter data into a field in the redisplayed page. It would be
irritating for the user to have to reselect selections that had previously
been made from lists; the selected attribute takes
care of that particular conundrum.
With a simple (one-line)
drop-down list, you may only use a single selected
attribute, but if the select is used as a list box
using the multiple attribute,
it is possible to have numerous options set as
"selected".
Example
Thisselected attribute is used to choose the second
option: <form>
<label for="favoritefood">Favorite food</label>
<select name="favoritefood" id="favoritefood" disabled="disabled">
<option>Cheese</option>
<option selected="selected">Egg</option>
<option>Cabbage</option>
⋮
</select>
</form>
Value
The only possible value
for this attribute is "selected".
Compatibility
| Internet Explorer | Firefox | Safari | Opera | Chrome | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 9.2 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 2.0 |
| Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
It causes no compatibility issues, and has excellent support across all tested browsers.
User-contributed notes
Add a note
To post a note on this topic, please log in with your SitePoint username and password. If you don't have an account yet, you can create a new account for free.