HTML form readonly SELECT tag/input

Question

According to HTML specs, the select tag in HTML doesn't have a readonly attribute, only a disabled attribute. So if you want to keep the user from changing the dropdown, you have to use disabled.

The only problem is that disabled HTML form inputs don't get included in the POST / GET data.

What's the best way to emulate the readonly attribute for a select tag, and still get the POST data?

Answer 1

You should keep the select element disabled but also add another hidden input with the same name and value.

If you reenable your SELECT, you should copy its value to the hidden input in an onchange event and disable (or remove) the hidden input.

Here is a demo:

$('#mainform').submit(function() {
    $('#formdata_container').show();
    $('#formdata').html($(this).serialize());
    return false;
});

$('#enableselect').click(function() {
    $('#mainform input[name=animal]')
        .attr("disabled", true);
    
    $('#animal-select')
        .attr('disabled', false)
    	.attr('name', 'animal');
    
    $('#enableselect').hide();
    return false;
});

#formdata_container {
    padding: 10px;
}

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div>
    <form id="mainform">
        <select id="animal-select" disabled="true">
            <option value="cat" selected>Cat</option>
            <option value="dog">Dog</option>
            <option value="hamster">Hamster</option>
        </select>
        <input type="hidden" name="animal" value="cat"/>
        <button id="enableselect">Enable</button>
        
        <select name="color">
            <option value="blue" selected>Blue</option>
            <option value="green">Green</option>
            <option value="red">Red</option>
        </select>

        <input type="submit"/>
    </form>
</div>

<div id="formdata_container" style="display:none">
    <div>Submitted data:</div>
    <div id="formdata">
    </div>
</div>