| Depr. | Version |
|---|---|
| No | HTML 3.02 |
| IE5.5+ | FF1+ | SA1.3+ | OP9.2+ | CH2+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
Syntax
Description
When the multiple attribute is combined
with the size attribute, the user
is able to select multiple, noncontiguous items from the list of options.
To do this, the user must use a modifier key; for most Windows browsers,
users would press Control while they clicked, while users of Mac browsers
would press Command while they clicked. The user’s selection may appear as
shown in Figure 1—this screenshot was
taken using Firefox on Mac, but the highlight colour may vary depending on
user preferences.
Note that in the example shown, there is no
formatting in the form of CSS, or br or div elements, so the
label text appears to be aligned with the base of the
select element. Naturally, you’d want to rectify this,
but I’ve presented it this way so that you’re aware of the default
layout.
Multiple select lists aren’t
very common, and it may be better to provide such choices in the form of
checkboxes. If you use a multiple select list, you’ll
almost always need to provide instructions to tell the user how to select
multiple items—and those instructions will need to be relevant to the
browsers and operating systems in use, which ultimately means there’s more
room for user error.
Example
This example shows amultiple attribute applied to a
select list: <form>
<label for="favoritefood">Favorite food</label>
<select name="favoritefood" id="favoritefood"
multiple="multiple" size="10">
<option>Cheese</option>
<option>Egg</option>
<option>Cabbage</option>
⋮
</select>
</form>
Value
The only possible value
for this attribute is "multiple".
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.
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