In a computer GUI, a drop-down menu is a menu that offers a list of options. The title of the menu, or the currently-selected item in the list, is always displayed. When the visible item is clicked, other items from the list “drop-down” are shown and the user can choose from those options.

For example, many programs have a “File” drop-down menu at the top-left of their screen. Clicking the “File” text generates a new menu with additional options.

A drop-down menu is a clean method of showing a large list of choices since only one choice is displayed initially until the user activates the drop-down box. To add a drop-down menu to a web page, you would use a

In this example, we have also assigned a value to each option. These values can be passed to any server-side script for information to be logged or for actions to occur based on the values.

Example of the above code

Drop-down menus are used in all types of software. For example, in the Windows operating system, the list of possible display themes (shown below) is a drop-down menu.

Nothing happens when selecting a choice using the above drop-down menu. If you want to submit data using a drop-down menu, you can use our customer service form.

How to select a drop-down menu using the keyboard

To select a drop-down menu using the keyboard, press Tab until the drop-down menu is selected. Once selected, you can use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through the available options. For example, press Tab now until the following drop-down menu is selected, and then use your down arrow key to scroll through the list. Once an option is selected, press Tab again to move to the next item or press Enter.

What key do I press to close a drop-down menu?

You can press the Esc key to close the drop-down menu.

You can also press the first letter of an option. For example, in the above drop-down menu, “Last” is the last item in the drop-down menu. If you press the “L” key on your keyboard once the drop-down menu is selected, it scrolls down to that option. This tip is helpful for large drop-down menus with several options (e.g., selecting a state or country).

What happens when you click an item in a drop-down menu?

When an item in a drop-down menu is clicked, it becomes the selected option. For example, if you’re filling out a form containing a drop-down menu with a list of countries and you choose “United States,” that becomes your selection. When you submit the form, “United States” will be the country you chose.

What icon do you click to activate a drop-down menu?

If a drop-down menu only has one option available (as seen below), you’d click the down arrow icon next to the first option.

How to select multiple choices in a drop-down

Drop-down menus that hide all options until the down arrow is clicked (like the example below) only allow one option to be selected.

Today, most programs also allow you to click anywhere in the drop-down menu to see the list of available options.

If you’re the web developer and want the visitor to be able to select multiple options, add the multiple attribute to the select tag. For example, below is the same drop-down menu with the multiple attribute added.

When a drop-down menu displays multiple options, as shown above, you can hold down Ctrl and click multiple options to submit.

Should I use “drop-down menu” or “dropdown menu” in writing?

When writing documentation or describing a drop-down menu, use “drop-down menu” unless you’re describing a function, option, or command with no hyphen.

If your drop-down menu has too many options, add the size attribute in the select tag.

Combo box, List box, Menu, Menu-driven, Operating system terms, Spin box

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