How to set default value of select in HTML? - html

I've made a select in html that looks like this <select name='select' id='select'><option value='val1'>Val1</option><option value='val2'>Val2</option></select>. Is there a way to set the default value of select to something like "pick a value"? Not as an option, but just the text of the select.

You can use the selected attribute within the option to select a default response. If you add the option disabled and hidden then this will be an invalid option.
<select name='select' id='select'>
<option value='val1' selected disabled hidden>Choose option</option>
<option value='val1'>Val1</option>
<option value='val2'>Val2</option>
</select>

Why not just have another option that doesn't have a value and give it the option of selected?
<select name='select' id='select'>
<option value='val1'>Val1</option>
<option value='val2'>Val2</option>
<option value='' selected>Choose Value</option>
</select>
Then in your php or whatever server side test to make sure you aren't accepting an empty value, or use js to not allow the form to submit if the value is blank?

Related

How would one set titles and default values inside of a select list?

I'm looking for a way to set a default value (in a select list) that has to be switched out of in order for the 'required=""' attribute to be accepted and for the form to be submitted. In other words the default value can't stay as the chosen value. Also, how would one add titles to a select list that can not be chosen and are meant as a way of labeling the select options. Everything I am looking for is shown in the image below in case of confusion.
In other words the default value can't stay as the chosen value.
About this request, you could find this helpful.
<form action="/action_page.php">
<select id="mySelect" required onchange="changeValue()">
<option value="">Select a Country</option>
<option value="c1">Country 1</option>
<option selected value="c2">Country 2</option>
<option value="c3">Country 3</option>
<option value="c4">COuntry 4</option>
</select>
<input id="btnSubmit" type="submit" disabled>
</form>
<script>
function changeValue(){
if (document.getElementById("mySelect").value != "")
document.getElementById("btnSubmit").disabled = false;
}
</script>
If your selected value changes (just after the first time) and it's different from "", the submit button will be valid. This can also be accomplished with a flag instead of setting the property disable, it depends on what you need to do.
You could try checking with javascript if the value = ""
Example from w3Schools.com:
https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_validation.asp
Make sure you also validate on the server side! people could change the HTML / Javascript

a option is selected without selected text in the option

When option is selected by default, without 'selected' text in it. How is it possible?.
I actually need a different option but I am not able to choose anything.
// set by default selected value using "selected" property of option
<select>
<option value="volvo">Volvo</option>
<option value="saab">Saab</option>
<option value="opel" selected>Opel</option>
<option value="audi">Audi</option>
</select>
// if you don't specify form select default option is first one "Volvo"
Default first one option is selected without "selected" property set beacuse that default behavior is that
If no "selected" attribute is provide, the first option in the select list will be selected by default. It will work this way in all browsers. Using an option with no text or value gives the appearance that nothing is selected:
<select>
<option value=""></option><!-- this will be selected by default, but the value will be empty string-->
<option value="1">Value 1</option>
<option value="2">Value 2</option>
<option value="3">Value 3</option>
</select>

How to get the first value to be default in select option

How to get the first value to be default value. In the select option values I have taken a loop for the multiple values. Now I want to select the first values by default but in a way that the last value is always selected by default. How do I do this?
try <option value="1" selected="selected">xyz</option>
use selected attribute for your first option
Try this, add the selected attribute to the option u want to be selected
<select>
<option selected="selected" value="1">selected option1</option>
<option value="2">option2</option>
<option value="3">option3</option>
</select>

value attribute on <select> tag not selecting default option

Perhaps i'm misunderstanding here, but given the following html:
<select value="2">
<option value="1">Something</option>
<option value="2">Something else</option>
</select>
I would expect "Something else" to be the default selected option. However, it does not seem to be. Why is this, and what should I be doing differently?
You use selected attribute on an option element to specify default option.
<select>
<option value="1">Something</option>
<option value="2" selected="selected">Something else</option> // this is default
</select>
select elements do not have a value attribute.
The only way to have a default option is to have selected in the option tag.
<SELECT>
<OPTION>Something
<OPTION SELECTED>Something Else
React JS
Some coding implementations such as ReactJS allow you to use a value attribute with the <select> tag so this would be perfectly valid code:
<select value="2">
<option value="1">Something</option>
<option value="2">Something else</option>
</select>
So if you are seeing code examples like this it is likely because it is in React or other similar library/framework.
Of course, with this approach, typically you would want to specify the value in state, so that it is updateable.
HTML with Attribute Minimization:
However, if you are using purely HTML you must use the selected attribute in your <option> tag as follows:
<select>
<option value="1">Something</option>
<option value="2" selected>Something else</option>
</select>
HTML with Full Attribute Specification:
The above uses attribute minimization, but you can also specify the full form if you want:
<select>
<option value="1">Something</option>
<option value="2" selected="selected">Something else</option>
</select>
The <select> element does not have a value attribute so that is ignored. So, you have a single selection <select> and none of its <option> elements have the selected attribute, that means that the first <option> is taken as the default selection.
I know this post is quite old but in case anyone else is struggling with this you can implement the functionality you are looking for using jquery.
The full code using php would be something like this
PHP
if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD']== "POST") {
$thing = $_POST['things'];
} else {
$thing ="";
}
HTML
<select name='things' value="<?php echo $thing; ?>">
<option value="1">Something</option>
<option value="2">Something else</option>
</select>
JQUERY
$(function() {
$("select[value]").each(function() {
$(this).val(this.getAttribute("value"));
});
}); //end document ready
This will allow the select options chosen by the user to remain selected
after the page has re-loaded via post instead of returning
to the default values.
You have to use select attribute. in below code, a swift option will be selected by default
<select name="myCar" id="car">
<option value="ind">Indica</option>
<option value="swf" selected>Swift</option>
</select>

Default entry for Selectbox but not present in list

Is it possible to have a selectbox that has a default option such as: "Select One" but have the term "Select One" not present in the actual list itself?
<select name="test" id="test">
<option value="" selected="selected">Select A Entry</option>
<optgroup label="A Label">
<option value="one">Option 1</option>
<option value="two">Option 2</option>
<option value="three">Option 3</option>
</optgroup>
</select>
I would go so far as to say no. Personally I would leave it in this list but write a javascript function to validate user input on form submission.
You could use this little bit of Javascript to do the trick:
<select name="test" id="test" onclick="this.remove(0);this.onclick=''">
As they click the list to select an option, it removes the first option ("Select an Entry" from the list, then clears the event handler so it only does this the first time.