Get selected text/value from DropDownList (or) Select in Java Script

Introduction:

In this article i will explain how to get selected text/value from DropDownList (or) Select in Java Script.

Description:

In previous articles i explained How to clear items from DropDownList (or) Select in Java ScriptHow to clear items from DropDownList (or) Select in jQueryHow to get selected index from DropDownList (or) Select in Java Script and How to get selected index from DropDownList (or) Select in jQuery. Now i will explain how to get selected text/value from DropDownList (or) Select in Java Script.

Get selected text from DropDownList (or) Select in Java Script:

We can get selected text from DropDownList (or) Select by using following script:

Script:

var ddl = document.getElementById('ddlRole');
alert('Selected Text is: ' + ddl.options[ddl.options.selectedIndex].text);

Get selected value from DropDownList (or) Select in Java Script:

We can get selected value from DropDownList (or) Select by using following script:

Script:

var ddl = document.getElementById('ddlRole');
alert('Selected Value is: ' + ddl.options[ddl.options.selectedIndex].value);

You can also find the complete example as shown below:

Full Source Code:

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <title>How to get DropDownList Text and Value in Java Script</title>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        function GetDropDownText() {
            var ddl = document.getElementById('ddlRole');
            alert('Selected Text is: ' + ddl.options[ddl.options.selectedIndex].text);
        }
        function GetDropDownValue() {
            var ddl = document.getElementById('ddlRole');
            alert('Selected Value is: ' + ddl.options[ddl.options.selectedIndex].value);
        }
    </script>
</head>
<body>
    <div>
        <select id="ddlRole" class="form-control">
            <option value="-1">Select</option>
            <option value="1">User</option>
            <option value="2">Admin</option>
            <option value="3">Super Admin</option>
        </select>
        <input type="button" value="Get Text" onclick="GetDropDownText()" />
        <input type="button" value="Get Value" onclick="GetDropDownValue()" />
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Output:

In the above example you will see Super Admin role is selected. When GetText button is clicked, it is showing respective selected text for SuperAdmin role. When GetValue button is clicked, it is showing respective selected value for SuperAdmin role.