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Select Object

For each instance of an HTML <select> tag on a form, a Select object is created.

All Select objects are stored in the elements array of the corresponding form. You can access a Select object by indexing this array - either by number (0 represents the first element in a form) or by using the value of the name attribute.

The Select object's collections, properties, methods, and events are described below:

N: Netscape (including Mozilla when N6 or higher), IE: Internet Explorer, W3C: World Wide Web Consortium (Internet Standard)

Collections

Collection Description N IE  W3C
options Returns an array of all the options in a dropdown list (one element for each <option> tag - starting at 0) 2 3.02 Yes

Properties

Syntax: object.property_name

Property Description N IE  W3C
accessKey Sets or returns the keyboard key to access the dropdown list   4 No
align Sets or returns the alignment of the dropdown list according to the surrounding text   4 No
disabled Sets or returns whether or not the dropdown list should be disabled 6 5.5 Yes
form Returns a reference to the dropdown list's parent form 2 3.02 Yes
id Sets or returns the id of the dropdown list (In IE 4 this property is read-only)   4 No
length Sets or returns the number of options in the dropdown list 2 3.02 Yes
multiple Sets or returns the Boolean value indicating whether multiple items can be selected 6 3.02 Yes
name Sets or returns the name of the dropdown list 2 3.02 Yes
selectedIndex Sets or returns the index of the selected option in the dropdown list. Note: If the dropdown list allows for multiple selections it will only return the index of the first option selected 2 3.02 Yes
size Sets or returns the number of rows in the dropdown list 6 3.02 Yes
tabIndex Sets or returns the tab order for the dropdown list   5 Yes
type Returns the type of the form element. For a dropdown list it will be "select-one" or "select-multiple" 3 4 Yes
value Sets or returns the value to be returned to the server when the form is submitted 6 3.02 Yes

Methods

Syntax: object.method_name()

Method Description N IE W3C
add() Adds an option to the dropdown list   4 Yes
blur() Removes focus from the dropdown list 3 4 Yes
focus() Sets focus on the dropdown list 3 4 Yes
remove() Removes an option from the dropdown list 6 4 Yes

Events

Syntax: object.event_name="someJavaScriptCode"

Event Description N IE W3C
onBlur Executes some code when the dropdown list loses focus 2 3.02  
onChange Executes some code when the dropdown list loses focus and its value has altered 2 3.02  
onClick Executes some code when the user clicks the left mouse button in the dropdown list   4  
onFocus Executes some code when the dropdown list gets focus 2 4