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How to set the default value for an HTML <select> element ?

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In this article, we will learn about setting the default value for the HTML select element, & will also understand their implementation through the examples.

The select tag in HTML is used to create a dropdown list of options that can be selected. The option tag contains the value that would be used when selected. The default value of the select element can be set by using the ‘selected’ attribute on the required option. This is a boolean attribute. The option that is having the ‘selected’ attribute will be displayed by default on the dropdown list. We can even set the selected attribute after the page is loaded with the help of Javascript.

Syntax:

<option value="value" selected>Option Name</option>

Example 1: This example illustrates the use of the selected attribute by specifying the pre-selected option that will be displayed first from the drop-down list.

HTML




<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  
<head>
    <title>Set the default value for <select> element</title>
</head>
  
<body>
    <h1 style="color: green">GeeksforGeeks</h1>
    <b>
        How to set the default 
        value for an HTML <select> element?
    </b>
    <p>The Starter option will be selected by default</p>
  
    <p>Choose your plan below:</p>
  
    <select name="plan" id="plan">
        <option value="free">Free</option>
        <option value="starter" selected>Starter </option>
        <option value="professional">Professional</option>
        <option value="corporate">Corporate</option>
    </select>
</body>
  
</html>


Output:

selected Attribute

Example 2: This can also be used to add messages like ‘Select an Option’ in the list. This option would have the hidden and disabled attribute in addition to selected.

HTML




<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  
<head>
    <title>Set the default value for <select> element</title>
</head>
  
<body>
    <h1 style="color: green">GeeksforGeeks</h1>
    <b>How to set the default value for an 
       HTML <select> element?
    </b>
    <p>The Select an Option would be shown by default.</p>
  
    <p>Choose your plan below:</p>
  
    <select name="plan" id="plan">
        <option value="none" selected disabled hidden>Select an Option</option>
        <option value="free">Free</option>
        <option value="starter">Starter </option>
        <option value="professional">Professional</option>
        <option value="corporate">Corporate</option>
    </select>
</body>
  
</html>


Output:

Disabled selected Attribute

HTML is the foundation of web pages, is used for webpage development by structuring websites and web apps. You can learn HTML from the ground up by following this HTML Tutorial and HTML Examples.



Last Updated : 22 Nov, 2021
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