Description

The <datalist> element specifies a set of pre-defined options for an <input> element. It can be used to provide the quick choices for an input field like an "autocomplete" feature. Its not only saves the time of a user but also reduces errors, because the user has less likelihood of making a spelling mistake. The list attribute of the input element is used to bind it together with a datalist element. The following table summarizes the usages context and the version history of this tag.

Placement:Block
Content:<option> elements
Start/ End Tag:Start tag: required, End tag: required
Version:HTML 5

Syntax

The basic syntax of the <datalist> tag is given with:

HTML/XHTML: <datalist> ... </datalist>

The example below shows the <datalist> tag in action.

<p>Enter your favorite browser name:</p>
<input type="text" list="browsers">
<datalist id="browsers">
    <option value="Firefox">
    <option value="Chrome">    
    <option value="Internet Explorer">
    <option value="Opera">
    <option value="Safari">
</datalist>

Tag-Specific Attributes

The <datalist> tag doesn't have any specific attribute.

Global Attributes

Like all other HTML tags, the <datalist> tag supports the global attributes in HTML5.

Event Attributes

The <datalist> tag also supports the event attributes in HTML5.

Browser Compatibility

Element
<datalist>YesYesYesYesYes