HTML <option> Tag
Topic: HTML5 Tags ReferencePrev|Next
Description
The <option> element represents an option in a dropdown list defined by the <select> element. A dropdown list must contain at least one <option> element.
The following table summarizes the usages context and the version history of this tag.
| Parent: | <select>, <optgroup> |
|---|---|
| Placement: | Inline |
| Content: | Text |
| Start/End Tag: | Start tag: required, End tag: optional |
| Version: | HTML 2, 3.2. 4, 4.01, 5 |
Syntax
The basic syntax of the <option> tag is given with:
Note: In HTML, the end tag for the <option> tag is not mandatory. In XHTML, the <option> tag must be properly closed i.e. both start tag and end tag are required.
The example below shows the <option> tag in action.
Example
Try this code »<select>
<option value="ferrari">Ferrari</option>
<option value="mercedes">Mercedes</option>
<option value="porsche">Porsche</option>
</select>Tip: You can use the <optgroup> tag for grouping related options within a dropdown list. It will make your forms more accessible for the users, particularly when the user have to choose from a long list of options.
Tag-Specific Attributes
The following table shows the attributes that are specific to the <option> tag.
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
label |
text | Specifies a short label for an option. |
disabled |
disabled |
This Boolean attribute indicates that the enclosed option is disabled i.e. the option is not selectable. |
selected |
selected |
This Boolean attribute indicates that the option is initially selected. |
value |
option-value | Defines a value for an option. If it is not defined, the value of an <option> element is the text content of the element. |
Global Attributes
Like all other HTML tags, the <option> tag supports the global attributes in HTML5.
Event Attributes
The <option> tag also supports the event attributes in HTML5.
Browser Compatibility
The <option> tag is supported in all major modern browsers.
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Basic Support—
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Further Reading
See tutorial on: HTML Forms.
Other form-related tags: <form>, <fieldset>, <legend>, <label>, <input>, <textarea>, <select>, <optgroup>, <button>.
