Question

I want to change the form’s target based on the option which is selected.

<form id='post_form' target="targetvalue">

<select id="select" name="select">
<option value="option1">Option 1</option>
<option value="option2">Option 2</option>
</select>

    </form>


 <script>
 $("#select").change(function() {
    var targetvalue = $("#select option:selected").text();
    $("#post_form").attr("target", targetvalue);
    });

 </script>

Answer 1

1. If you want to set the target to either Option 1 or Option 2, what you have is correct. However, if you want to set the target to either option1 or option2, you should have:

   var targetvalue = $("#select option:selected").val();
   

   which can be simplified to just;

   var targetvalue = $(this).val();
   

2. If you’re using jQuery > 1.6, you should be using prop() instead of attr(). For more details see StackOverflow: .prop() vs .attr()

   $("#select").change(function() {
       var targetvalue = /* which ever you decide */;
       $("#post_form").prop("target", targetvalue);
   });
   

3. You shouldn’t really be linking to just the latest version in a production environment; if a new version of jQuery gets released with breaking changes, you’re screwed. Link to a specific version of jQuery, and test thoroughly before you upgrade to a new release;

   <script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.7.1.min.js"></script>
   

4. If you’re only defining the <script> after the <form> element to be able to target it, realise you can use a $(document).ready() block to define the script anywhere;

   <script>
       $(document).ready(function () {
           $('#select').change(function () {
               var targetvalue = /* which ever you decide */;
               $('#post_form').prop("target", targetvalue);
           });
       });
   </script>