


To enable multiple selections in an HTML dropdown, use the multiple attribute on the
To allow multiple selections in an HTML dropdown, you use the multiple
attribute on a <select></select>
element. This lets users select more than one option at a time, typically by holding down the Ctrl (or Command on Mac) key while clicking, or by using Shift to select a range.

How to Use the multiple
Attribute
Add the multiple
attribute directly to the <select></select>
tag. You can also pair it with the size
attribute to control how many options are visible at once:
<select name="fruits" multiple size="5"> <option value="apple">Apple</option> <option value="banana">Banana</option> <option value="orange">Orange</option> <option value="grape">Grape</option> <option value="mango">Mango</option> </select>
multiple
: Enables multi-selection.size="5"
: Shows 5 options at once (improves usability).name="fruits"
: The name of the field sent with form data.
Note: To send multiple values correctly when the form is submitted, make sure the
name
attribute ends with[]
if your backend expects an array (e.g., PHP):<select name="fruits[]" multiple size="5">
How Users Make Multiple Selections
Depending on their device and OS, users can:
- Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click individual items to toggle selection.
- Hold Shift and click to select a range from the last selected option.
- Click and drag in some browsers (especially when
size
is set).
Handling Selected Values
When the form is submitted, only the selected options are sent. For example, if "Apple", "Grape", and "Mango" are selected, the data sent would be:

fruits[]=apple&fruits[]=grape&fruits[]=mango
This format is automatically handled by most server-side languages like PHP, Python (with frameworks), etc.
Tips for Better Usability
- Always set the
size
attribute so users can see multiple options — otherwise, only one line is visible, making it unclear that multiple choices are possible. - Consider adding a helper instruction like:
"Hold Ctrl (or Cmd) to select multiple options." - Use CSS to style the multi-select if needed, though styling
<select></select>
elements is limited compared to custom JavaScript solutions.
If you need a more user-friendly interface (like checkboxes or a searchable dropdown), you’d need JavaScript libraries (e.g., Select2, Choices.js), but for basic cases, multiple
works well.
Basically, just add multiple
and size
, and make sure your backend can handle array-style input. Doesn’t get much simpler than that.
The above is the detailed content of How to allow multiple selections with the multiple attribute in HTML. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Hot AI Tools

Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free

Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1
Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version
Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1
Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6
Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

Hot Topics

The rational use of semantic tags in HTML can improve page structure clarity, accessibility and SEO effects. 1. Used for independent content blocks, such as blog posts or comments, it must be self-contained; 2. Used for classification related content, usually including titles, and is suitable for different modules of the page; 3. Used for auxiliary information related to the main content but not core, such as sidebar recommendations or author profiles. In actual development, labels should be combined and other, avoid excessive nesting, keep the structure simple, and verify the rationality of the structure through developer tools.

The web page structure needs to be supported by core HTML elements. 1. The overall structure of the page is composed of , , which is the root element, which stores meta information and displays the content; 2. The content organization relies on title (-), paragraph () and block tags (such as ,) to improve organizational structure and SEO; 3. Navigation is implemented through and implemented, commonly used organizations are linked and supplemented with aria-current attribute to enhance accessibility; 4. Form interaction involves , , and , to ensure the complete user input and submission functions. Proper use of these elements can improve page clarity, maintenance and search engine optimization.

Client-sideformvalidationcanbedonewithoutJavaScriptbyusingHTMLattributes.1)Userequiredtoenforcemandatoryfields.2)ValidateemailsandURLswithtypeattributeslikeemailorurl,orusepatternwithregexforcustomformats.3)Limitvaluesusingmin,max,minlength,andmaxlen

Use tags in HTML to group options in the drop-down menu. The specific method is to wrap a group of elements and define the group name through the label attribute, such as: 1. Contains options such as apples, bananas, oranges, etc.; 2. Contains options such as carrots, broccoli, etc.; 3. Each is an independent group, and the options within the group are automatically indented. Notes include: ① No nesting is supported; ② The entire group can be disabled through the disabled attribute; ③ The style is restricted and needs to be beautified in combination with CSS or third-party libraries; plug-ins such as Select2 can be used to enhance functions.

To use HTML button elements to achieve clickable buttons, you must first master its basic usage and common precautions. 1. Create buttons with tags and define behaviors through type attributes (such as button, submit, reset), which is submitted by default; 2. Add interactive functions through JavaScript, which can be written inline or bind event listeners through ID to improve maintenance; 3. Use CSS to customize styles, including background color, border, rounded corners and hover/active status effects to enhance user experience; 4. Pay attention to common problems: make sure that the disabled attribute is not enabled, JS events are correctly bound, layout occlusion, and use the help of developer tools to troubleshoot exceptions. Master this

Metadata in HTMLhead is crucial for SEO, social sharing, and browser behavior. 1. Set the page title and description, use and keep it concise and unique; 2. Add OpenGraph and Twitter card information to optimize social sharing effects, pay attention to the image size and use debugging tools to test; 3. Define the character set and viewport settings to ensure multi-language support is adapted to the mobile terminal; 4. Optional tags such as author copyright, robots control and canonical prevent duplicate content should also be configured reasonably.

When encountering HTML verification errors, you must first clarify the problem and correct it according to the specifications. 1. When the required attributes are missing, the src and alt and a href of img should be completed; 2. When the tag nesting is incorrect, the structure should be clarified and the tags should be closed correctly to avoid confusion in nesting block-level elements; 3. When using invalid or discarded tags, you should refer to the MDN document to replace it with modern writing methods, such as replacing center and font with CSS; 4. When character encoding problems, add metacharset="UTF-8" and ensure that the file is saved in UTF-8 format to solve it.

Using HTML sums allows for intuitive and semantic clarity to add caption text to images or media. 1. Used to wrap independent media content, such as pictures, videos or code blocks; 2. It is placed as its explanatory text, and can be located above or below the media; 3. They not only improve the clarity of the page structure, but also enhance accessibility and SEO effect; 4. When using it, you should pay attention to avoid abuse, and apply to content that needs to be emphasized and accompanied by description, rather than ordinary decorative pictures; 5. The alt attribute that cannot be ignored, which is different from figcaption; 6. The figcaption is flexible and can be placed at the top or bottom of the figure as needed. Using these two tags correctly helps to build semantic and easy to understand web content.
