.val()

Categories: Attributes | Forms | Manipulation > General Attributes
Get the current value of the first element in the set of matched elements or set the value of every matched element.

Contents:

.val()Returns: String or Number or Array

Description: Get the current value of the first element in the set of matched elements.

  • version added: 1.0.val()

    • This method does not accept any arguments.

The .val() method is primarily used to get the values of form elements such as input, select and textarea. When called on an empty collection, it returns undefined.

When the first element in the collection is a select-multiple (i.e., a select element with the multiple attribute set), .val() returns an array containing the value of each selected option. As of jQuery 3.0, if no options are selected, it returns an empty array; prior to jQuery 3.0, it returns null.

For selects, checkboxes and radio buttons, you can use :checked to select the right elements. For example:

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// Get the value from the selected option in a dropdown
$( "select#foo option:checked" ).val();
 
// Get the value from a dropdown select directly
$( "select#foo" ).val();
 
// Get the value from a checked checkbox
$( "input[type=checkbox][name=bar]:checked" ).val();
 
// Get the value from a set of radio buttons
$( "input[type=radio][name=baz]:checked" ).val();

Note: At present, using .val() on <textarea> elements strips carriage return characters from the browser-reported value. When this value is sent to the server via XHR, however, carriage returns are preserved (or added by browsers which do not include them in the raw value). A workaround for this issue can be achieved using a valHook as follows:

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$.valHooks.textarea = {
  get: function( elem ) {
    return elem.value.replace( /\r?\n/g, "\r\n" );
  }
};

Examples:

Get the single value from a single select and an array of values from a multiple select and display their values.

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<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>val demo</title>
  <style>
  p {
    color: red;
    margin: 4px;
  }
  b {
    color: blue;
  }
  </style>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
 
<p></p>
 
<select id="single">
  <option>Single</option>
  <option>Single2</option>
</select>
 
<select id="multiple" multiple="multiple">
  <option selected="selected">Multiple</option>
  <option>Multiple2</option>
  <option selected="selected">Multiple3</option>
</select>
 
<script>
function displayVals() {
  var singleValues = $( "#single" ).val();
  var multipleValues = $( "#multiple" ).val() || [];
  // When using jQuery 3:
  // var multipleValues = $( "#multiple" ).val();
  $( "p" ).html( "<b>Single:</b> " + singleValues +
    " <b>Multiple:</b> " + multipleValues.join( ", " ) );
}
 
$( "select" ).on( "change", displayVals );
displayVals();
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

Demo:

Find the value of an input box.

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<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>val demo</title>
  <style>
  p {
    color: blue;
    margin: 8px;
  }
  </style>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
 
<input type="text" value="some text">
<p></p>
 
<script>
$( "input" )
  .on( "keyup", function() {
    var value = $( this ).val();
    $( "p" ).text( value );
  } )
  .trigger( "keyup" );
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

Demo:

.val( value )Returns: jQuery

Description: Set the value of each element in the set of matched elements.

  • version added: 1.0.val( value )

    • value
      Type: String or Number or Array
      A string of text, a number, or an array of strings corresponding to the value of each matched element to set as selected/checked.

  • version added: 1.4.val( function )

    • function
      Type: Function( Integer index, String value ) => String
      A function returning the value to set. this is the current element. Receives the index position of the element in the set and the old value as arguments.

This method is typically used to set the values of form fields.

val() allows you to pass an array of element values. This is useful when working on a jQuery object containing elements like <input type="checkbox">, <input type="radio">, and <option>s inside of a <select>. In this case, the inputs and the options having a value that matches one of the elements of the array will be checked or selected while those having a value that doesn't match one of the elements of the array will be unchecked or unselected, depending on the type. In the case of <input type="radio">s that are part of a radio group and <select>s, any previously selected element will be deselected.

Setting values using this method (or using the native value property) does not cause the dispatch of the change event. For this reason, the relevant event handlers will not be executed. If you want to execute them, you should call .trigger( "change" ) after setting the value.

The .val() method allows setting the value by passing in a function. As of jQuery 1.4, the function is passed two arguments, the current element's index and its current value:

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$( "input[type=text].tags" ).val(function( index, value ) {
  return value.trim();
});

This example removes leading and trailing whitespace from the values of text inputs with a "tags" class.

Examples:

Set the value of an input box.

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<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>val demo</title>
  <style>
  button {
    margin: 4px;
    cursor: pointer;
  }
  input {
    margin: 4px;
    color: blue;
  }
  </style>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
 
<div>
  <button>Feed</button>
  <button>the</button>
  <button>Input</button>
</div>
<input type="text" value="click a button">
 
<script>
$( "button" ).on( "click", function() {
  var text = $( this ).text();
  $( "input" ).val( text );
});
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

Demo:

Use the function argument to modify the value of an input box.

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<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>val demo</title>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
 
<p>Type something and then click or tab out of the input.</p>
<input type="text" value="type something">
 
<script>
$( "input" ).on( "blur", function() {
  $( this ).val(function( i, val ) {
    return val.toUpperCase();
  });
});
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

Demo:

Set a single select, a multiple select, checkboxes and a radio button .

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<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>val demo</title>
  <style>
  body {
    color: blue;
  }
  </style>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
 
<select id="single">
  <option>Single</option>
  <option>Single2</option>
</select>
 
<select id="multiple" multiple="multiple">
  <option selected="selected">Multiple</option>
  <option>Multiple2</option>
  <option selected="selected">Multiple3</option>
</select>
 
<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="checkboxname" value="check1"> check1
<input type="checkbox" name="checkboxname" value="check2"> check2
<input type="radio" name="r" value="radio1"> radio1
<input type="radio" name="r" value="radio2"> radio2
 
<script>
$( "#single" ).val( "Single2" );
$( "#multiple" ).val([ "Multiple2", "Multiple3" ]);
$( "input").val([ "check1", "check2", "radio1" ]);
</script>
 
</body>
</html>

Demo: