HTMLSelectElement: selectedIndex property

The selectedIndex property of the HTMLSelectElement interface is the numeric index of the first selected <option> element in a <select> element, if any, or −1 if no <option> is selected. Setting this property selects the option at that index and deselects all other options, while setting it to -1 deselects any currently selected options.

Value

A number.

Examples

HTML

<p id="p">selectedIndex: 0</p>

<select id="select">
  <option selected>Option A</option>
  <option>Option B</option>
  <option>Option C</option>
  <option>Option D</option>
  <option>Option E</option>
</select>

JavaScript

const selectElem = document.getElementById("select");
const pElem = document.getElementById("p");

// When a new <option> is selected
selectElem.addEventListener("change", () => {
  const index = selectElem.selectedIndex;
  // Add that data to the <p>
  pElem.textContent = `selectedIndex: ${index}`;
});

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• HTMLSelectElement
• HTMLOptionElement
• HTMLOptionsCollection