HTML Select and Textarea

select, textarea, datalist, and output cover choices, longer notes, suggestions, and calculated results that a single-line input cannot express honestly.

Some questions need a list of options, a longer written answer, a suggestion list, or a calculated result. select, textarea, datalist, and output cover those jobs. They still need visible labels and submitted names from the HTML Forms lesson.

Build a labeled select with honest options

select contains option children. The submitted value is the selected option’s value, or its text if value is omitted. optgroup labels a subset of options. multiple lets more than one option be chosen; that changes both the interface and the submitted data. A first placeholder option with value="" and required can force a real choice.

<label for="experience">HTML experience</label>
<select id="experience" name="experience" required>
  <option value="">Choose one</option>
  <optgroup label="Still learning">
    <option value="new">New to HTML</option>
    <option value="some">Some markup</option>
  </optgroup>
  <optgroup label="Teaching others">
    <option value="mentor">I review other people’s HTML</option>
  </optgroup>
</select>

• Associate a visible label with the select id.
• Give every intended option a stable value.
• Use optgroup only when the grouping is real.
• multiple submits more than one value for the same name.
• Do not use select for a single action; that is a button.