OPTGROUP - Option Group

Syntax	<OPTGROUP>...</OPTGROUP>
Attribute Specifications	LABEL=`Text` (group label) DISABLED (disable group of choices) common attributes
Contents	One or more OPTION elements
Contained in	SELECT

The OPTGROUP element defines a group of choices within a SELECT menu. OPTGROUP must contain one or more OPTION elements to define the actual choices.

The required LABEL attribute specifies the group label presented to the user. The LABEL should describe the group of choices available through the OPTGROUP's OPTIONs. Each OPTION generally uses a LABEL attribute as well to provide a shortened label that, together with the OPTGROUP's LABEL, gives a complete description of the option. An example follows:

<P>Which Web browser do you use most often?
  <SELECT NAME=browser>
    <OPTGROUP LABEL="Firefox">
      <OPTION LABEL="2.0 or higher">
        Firefox 2.0 or higher
      </OPTION>
      <OPTION LABEL="1.5.x">Firefox 1.5.x</OPTION>
      <OPTION LABEL="1.0.x">Firefox 1.0.x</OPTION>
    </OPTGROUP>
    <OPTGROUP LABEL="Microsoft Internet Explorer">
      <OPTION LABEL="7.0 or higher">
        Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher
      </OPTION>
      <OPTION LABEL="6.x">Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x</OPTION>
      <OPTION LABEL="5.x">Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x</OPTION>
      <OPTION LABEL="4.x">Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x</OPTION>
    </OPTGROUP>
    <OPTGROUP LABEL="Opera">
      <OPTION LABEL="9.0 or higher">Opera 9.0 or higher</OPTION>
      <OPTION LABEL="8.x">Opera 8.x</OPTION>
      <OPTION LABEL="7.x">Opera 7.x</OPTION>
    </OPTGROUP>
    <OPTION>Safari</OPTION>
    <OPTION>Other</OPTION>
  </SELECT>
</P>

OPTGROUP is new in HTML 4.0 and not supported by old browsers, but it can safely be used as long as authors do not depend on the LABEL text appearing. Current browsers generally ignore each OPTION's LABEL, showing the content of the OPTION element instead.

Note that, in HTML 4, OPTGROUP is limited to containing only OPTION elements, thus preventing nested OPTGROUPs with multi-level cascades. Future versions of HTML may add support for nested option groups.

The boolean DISABLED attribute makes the option group unavailable. The options of a disabled option group cannot be selected by the user and are never submitted with the form.

OPTGROUP - Option Group

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