In web development, forms are a common way to collect information from users. The select box is one of the form elements that allows users to choose an option from a list. It is essential to validate the selected option to ensure that the user input is correct and meets the requirements.
jQuery is a popular JavaScript library that is widely used to add interactivity and functionality to web pages. One of its key features is its ability to validate form inputs on the client side, without having to submit the form to the server. The jQuery Validate plugin is a popular tool that extends the functionality of jQuery to include form validation.
To validate select option and add validation error message on client side before send to the form data on server; In this tutorial, you will learn how to validate select option or dropdown option data by adding a validation error message on client side using the jQuery form validator plugin.
jQuery select option dropdown validation
Let’s use the following steps to add jQuery validation on select dropdowns to ensure that the user selects a valid option before submitting the form:
- Step 1: Include jQuery and jQuery Validate Plugins
- Step 2: Add HTML code for Select Dropdown
- Step 3: Add jQuery Validation Code
- Step 4: Test the Validation
Step 1: Include jQuery and jQuery Validate Plugins
First, you need to include both the jQuery library and the jQuery Validate plugin in your HTML file. You can easily download it from the official jQuery website and jQuery Validate websites or use a CDN link. Here is an example of how to include them in your HTML file:
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.6.0.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/jquery.validation/1.16.0/jquery.validate.min.js"></script>
Step 2: Add HTML code for Select Dropdown
Next, you need to add the HTML code for the select dropdown in your form. You can add it like this:
<form id="myform">
<select name="select_option" id="select_option">
<option value="">Select an option</option>
<option value="option1">Option 1</option>
<option value="option2">Option 2</option>
<option value="option3">Option 3</option>
</select>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
In the code above, we have added a select dropdown with four options, including a default option with an empty value. We have also added a submit button to the form.
Step 3: Add jQuery Validation Code
The next step is to add the jQuery code for validating the select dropdown using the jQuery Validate plugin. Here is the code:
$(document).ready(function() {
$('#myform').validate({
rules: {
select_option: {
required: true
}
},
messages: {
select_option: {
required: "Please select an option"
}
},
errorPlacement: function(error, element) {
error.insertAfter(element.parent());
},
submitHandler: function(form) {
form.submit();
}
});
});
In the code above, we have added an event listener to the form using the jQuery validate() function. Inside the validate() function, we have defined the validation rules and error messages for the select dropdown using the rules and messages objects. We have also added a custom error placement function using the errorPlacement option to display the error message after the select dropdown.
Finally, we have added a submitHandler function to submit the form if all the fields are valid.
Step 4: Test the Validation
To test the validation, try submitting the form without selecting an option from the select dropdown. The jQuery Validate plugin will display an error message below the select dropdown, prompting the user to select an option before submitting the form. If a valid option is selected, the form will be submitted successfully.
Conclusion
That’s it, through this tutorial, you have learned how to use jQuery to validate select option boxes and provide feedback to users if they do not select a valid option.
