The SELECT element indicates the contents will be a list
of values. The values of this list are represented by one or more
OPTION elements. A common implementation is a drop-down list box.
Description:
This is a method of giving access/focus to an active HTML element using
a keyboard character. This is a common GUI paradigm also known
as a "keyboard shortcut" or "keyboard accelerator"
A single character is used as the value of this attribute. In addition,
a platform-dependent key is usually used in combination with the
ACCESSKEY character to access the functionality of the active field.
Values:
A single, case-insensitive character from a browser's character set.
Description:
This specifies the alignment of text following the selection list
relative to the list on the rendering device. LEFT and RIGHT alignment
specify floating horizontal alignment of the selection list in the
browser window, and subsequent content in the document will wrap
around the list. The other values specify vertical alignment of
content relative to the selection list on the same line.
Description:
This is a stand-alone attribute which indicates the element is
initially non-functional. Disabled form elements should not be submitted
to the form processing script.
Description:
This attribute indicates that more than one option can be selected at
one time to be included in the return value to the form processing script.
Description:
This is an SGML Document Access
(SDA) attribute. SDA attributes are designed to transform HTML (and
other SGML-based documents) to the ICADD
DTD - which is used in creating accessible documents for users with
visual disabilities (rendering in Braille, large print, speech
synthesis, etc.) The attribute value specifies the name of the element
to convert this element to in the SDA element group (in this case the
'List' element - "list of items".)
Description:
This is an SGML Document Access
(SDA) attribute. SDA attributes are designed to transform HTML (and
other SGML-based documents) to the ICADD
DTD - which is used in creating accessible documents for users with
visual disabilities (rendering in Braille, large print, speech
synthesis, etc.) The attribute value specifies content to be added
BEFORE the original element content (in this case the string
"<LHead>Select #AttVal(Multiple)</LHead>")
when the SDA document is rendered (SDA also allows attributes and values
from the original element to be used in the new SDA element where necessary.)
"#AttVal(Multiple)" references the value of the SELECT MULTIPLE attribute,
if present.
Description:
"Tabbing" is a method of giving access/focus to an active HTML
element using a standard keyboard sequence. All the active elements in a
document can be cycled through using this sequence (ex: Windows TAB key.)
The order of the active elements in this cycle is usually the order they
occur in the document, but the TABINDEX attribute allows a different order
to be established. The use of this attribute should create the following
tabbing order cycle if the browser supports the attribute:
Active elements using the TABINDEX attribute with positive integers are
navigated first. Low values are navigated first.
Active elements not specifying any TABINDEX attribute
Those elements carrying a DISABLED attribute or using negative TABINDEX
values do not participate in the tabbing cycle.
Markup other than the OPTION or OPTGROUP elements should never appear in a
selection list.
[Test]
If no VALUE attribute is supplied for an OPTION element, the displayed
content of the OPTION is submitted to the form processing script. Otherwise,
the VALUE attribute is sent.
Browser Peculiarities
[Test]
In Internet Explorer 4.0/5.0, only the CSS 'color' and 'background-color'
properties apply to the OPTION element (as well as the 'background-color'
component of the 'background' shorthand property.) All other CSS properties
for the OPTION element are ignored. CSS properties set for individual OPTION
elements override properties set for the SELECT element.
[Test]
Netscape 4+ allows some Character-level formatting to be applied to the
contents of this form field. These physical formatting elements (along with
virtual formatting elements that are rendered identically, such as
EM and I) apply to this form field: I, U, TT, S, STRIKE, SUB, SUP, BIG,
SMALL, FONT SIZE and FONT FACE.
[Test]
The DIR="RTL" attribute right aligns the content of SELECT element
WITHIN the form field, not the element itself relative to the
viewport as it does for other elements.
The same document that clued me in to the support of the WIDTH attribute
in Netscape 4.x also claimed that it supported a HEIGHT attribute as well,
but despite much testing I could not confirm that.
[Test]
Internet Explorer (PC versions at least) have a problem with displaying
background colors for select lists when only 256 colors are available.
If the background-color specified (even color safe colors) is also
used for other elements or even for backgrounds on other form controls,
the color used for the select list is very different than what it
should be. I do not know how widespread this problem is, or what causes it.
[Test]
Opera 4+: Only a few CSS properties (like 'margin', which apply to the
region AROUND the SELECT list) are used. Most others are ignored.
[Test]
Opera 5/6: Using the DISABLED attribute still sends the name/value pair
for the element to the form processing script. It should not do this.