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JavaScript jQuery Basics (2014) Creating a Mobile Drop Down Menu Using change()

Posted by Bill Ertle
Bill Ertle
9,286 Points

Using change() in jQuery Basics

hello and happy holidays!

confused by jQuery; here's my question:

How do i modify the $button click code so it performs the redirect when the $select is changed?

if anyone can take a look at the code below and make suggestions, i would appreciate it:

//Create a select and append to #menu
var $select = $("<select></select>");
$("#menu").append($select);

//Cycle over menu links
$("#menu a").each(function(){
  var $anchor = $(this);
  //Create an option
  var $option = $("<option></option>");

  //Deal with selected options depending on current page
  if($anchor.parent().hasClass("selected")) {
    $option.prop("selected", true);
  }
  //option's value is the href
  $option.val($anchor.attr("href"));
  //option's text is the text of link
  $option.text($anchor.text());
  //append option to select
  $select.append($option);
});
//Create button 
var $button = $("<button>Go</button>");
$("#menu").change($button);
//Bind click to button
$button.click(function(){
  //Go to select's location
  window.location = $select.val();
});

2 Answers

Joseph Szoke
Joseph Szoke
15,087 Points
Joseph Szoke
Joseph Szoke
15,087 Points

I'm pretty sure you are using change() wrong. I've used it with a function instead of a variable.

   $('select').change(function(){
      //redirect code
});
Victor Rodriguez
Victor Rodriguez
15,015 Points
Victor Rodriguez
Victor Rodriguez
15,015 Points

To expand on Joseph's code, if you want to redirect based on the change in the select element, the syntax is 

$select.change(function(event_object) {
    window.location = $(this).val();
});

.change() works by choosing the element you want to watch for changes 

$('css-selector')

or 

 var $element = $('<element></element>');

and chaining the function at the end. This is how basic jquery works.

You can even add these event handlers before it has been appended to the page.