Coding Forms

Menus and Lists provide an efficient way for the user to choose an option from a list of valid values. Menus are similar to Radio Buttons, except they are designed for larger lists and display as a drop down box. Lists display as a scroll box or a set number of options in a box and give the savvy user the option of making multiple selections.

<label> <select name="choose1">
     <option value="red">Red</option>
     <option value="blue">Blue</option>
     <option value="green" selected>Green</option>
</select></label>

<label> Favorite Color(s): <select name="choosemore" size="3" multiple>
     <option value="red">Red</option>
     <option value="blue" >Blue</option>
     <option value="green">Green</option>
</select></label>
</form>

Application: Add a menu or list to my_form.html. Make one preselected.
Example: Form with a variety of 'list/menu' fields.

MULTIPLE - Putting this into the tag allows there to be more than one option selected at a time.

SELECT tells the browser that a list or menu is to be displayed. It should always have a name value and a closing tag.

OPTION functions similarly to the <li> tag in a list. It places each item on a separate line and contains a separate value for each option. It requires a closing tag. The browser displays the characters between the opening and closing tag.

SIZE is the number of options you want displayed at one time.

SELECTED - is placed in the option tag if this is the option that you want to appear when the drop down box is first displayed. It is not used when the multiple tag is used. The default is to show the first item in the list.