HTML & XHTML Pocket Reference, 4th Edition

Name

option — HTML 4.01 | HTML5

Synopsis

<option> . . . </option>

Defines an option within a select element (a multiple-choice menu or scrolling list). The content of the option element is the value that is sent to the form-processing application (unless an alternative value is specified using the value attribute).

Note

In HTML5, the option element may also be used within the new datalist element.

Start/End Tags

HTML: Required/Optional; XHTML: Required/Required

Attributes

Core, Internationalization, Events, HTML5 Global Attributes

disabled (disabled="disabled" in XHTML)

Indicates that the selection is initially nonfunctional. It can be reactivated with a script.

label="text"

Allows the author to provide a shorter label than the content of the option. This attribute is not supported.

selected (selected="selected" in XHTML)

Makes this item selected when the form is initially displayed.

value="text"

Defines a value to assign to the option item within the select control to use in place of option contents.

Example

<p>What are your favorite ice cream flavors?</p>
<select name="ice_cream" size="4" multiple="multiple">
   <option>Vanilla</option>
   <option>Chocolate</option>
   <option>Inside-out Rocky Road</option>
   <option>Super-duper Praline Pecan Smashup</option>
   <option>Mint Chocolate Chip</option>
   <option>Pistachio</option>
</select>