HTMLSelectElement.add()

The HTMLSelectElement.add() method adds an element to the collection of option elements for this select element.

Syntax

collection.add(item[, before]);

Parameters

item is an HTMLOptionElement or HTMLOptGroupElement
before is optional and an element of the collection, or an index of type long, representing the item should be inserted before. If this parameter is null (or the index does not exist), the new element is appended to the end of the collection.

Exceptions

HierarchyRequestError DOMException: Thrown if the item passed to the method is an ancestor of theHTMLSelectElement.

Examples

Creating Elements from Scratch

var sel = document.createElement("select");
var opt1 = document.createElement("option");
var opt2 = document.createElement("option");

opt1.value = "1";
opt1.text = "Option: Value 1";

opt2.value = "2";
opt2.text = "Option: Value 2";

sel.add(opt1, null);
sel.add(opt2, null);

/*
  Produces the following, conceptually:

  <select>
    <option value="1">Option: Value 1</option>
    <option value="2">Option: Value 2</option>
  </select>
*/

The before parameter is optional. So the following is accepted.

...
sel.add(opt1);
sel.add(opt2);
...

Append to an Existing Collection

var sel = document.getElementById("existingList");

var opt = document.createElement("option");
opt.value = "3";
opt.text = "Option: Value 3";

sel.add(opt, null);

/*
  Takes the existing following select object:

  <select id="existingList">
    <option value="1">Option: Value 1</option>
    <option value="2">Option: Value 2</option>
  </select>

  And changes it to:

  <select id="existingList">
    <option value="1">Option: Value 1</option>
    <option value="2">Option: Value 2</option>
    <option value="3">Option: Value 3</option>
  </select>
*/

The before parameter is optional. So the following is accepted.

...
sel.add(opt);
...

Inserting to an Existing Collection

var sel = document.getElementById("existingList");

var opt = document.createElement("option");
opt.value = "3";
opt.text = "Option: Value 3";

sel.add(opt, sel.options[1]);

/*
  Takes the existing following select object:

  <select id="existingList">
    <option value="1">Option: Value 1</option>
    <option value="2">Option: Value 2</option>
  </select>

  And changes it to:

  <select id="existingList">
    <option value="1">Option: Value 1</option>
    <option value="3">Option: Value 3</option>
    <option value="2">Option: Value 2</option>
  </select>
*/

Specifications

Specification
HTML Standard # dom-select-add-dev

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	WebView Android	Chrome Android	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	Safari on IOS	Samsung Internet
`add`	1	12	1	5.5	≤12.1	3	1	18	4	≤12.1	1	1.0
`index_before_parameter`	35	12	8	5.5	22	9	37	35	8	22	9	3.0

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/HTMLSelectElement/add

Name	Web APIs
Version
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Last Updated	2022-04-27T09:33:08Z