HTML - <option>
In a Web form, the HTML <option> element is used to create a control representing an item within a <select>, an <optgroup> or a <datalist> HTML5 element.
Example
See <select> for examples.
Description
In a Web form, the HTML <option> element is used to create a control representing an item within a <select>, an <optgroup> or a <datalist> HTML5 element.
| Content categories | None. |
|---|---|
| Permitted content | Text with eventually escaped characters (like é). |
| Tag omission | The start tag is mandatory. The end tag is optional if this element is immediately followed by another <option> element or an <optgroup>, or if the parent element has no more content. |
| Permitted parent elements | A <select>, an <optgroup> or a <datalist> element. |
| DOM interface | HTMLOptionElement |
Browser Compatibility
| Feature | Chrome | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari (WebKit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | 1.0 | 1.0 (1.7 or earlier)[1][2] | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
| Feature | Android | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Phone | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | (Yes) | 1.0 (1.0)[1] | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
[1] Gecko doesn't display the value of the label attribute as option text if element's content is empty. See bug 1205213.
[2] Historically, Firefox has allowed keyboard and mouse events to bubble up from the <option> element to the parent <select> element. This doesn't happen in Chrome, however, although this behavior is inconsistent across many browsers. For better Web compatibility (and for technical reasons), when Firefox is in multi-process mode and the <select> element is displayed as a drop-down list. The behavior is unchanged if the <select> is presented inline and it has either the multiple attribute defined or a size attribute set to more than 1. Rather than watching <option> elements for events, you should watch for {event("change")}} events on <select>. See bug 1090602 for details.
See Also
- Other form-related elements:
<form>,<legend>,<label>,<button>,<select>,<datalist>,<optgroup>,<fieldset>,<textarea>,<keygen>,<input>,<output>,<progress>and<meter>.
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| WHATWG HTML Living Standard The definition of '<option>' in that specification. |
Living Standard | |
| HTML5 The definition of '<option>' in that specification. |
Recommendation | |
| HTML 4.01 Specification The definition of '<option>' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition |
License
© 2016 Mozilla Contributors
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-us/docs/web/html/element/option