Changing URL through html select

Question

What is the best way to change your URL through an html select?

<select>
<option selected="selected">Change to URL X</option>
<option>Change to URL Y</option>
</select>

What Javascript should be used?

Answer 1

<script type="text/javascript">
function navigateTo(sel, target, newWindow) {
    var url = sel.options[sel.selectedIndex].value;
    if (newWindow) {
        window.open(url, target, '--- attributes here, see below ---');
    } else {
        window[target].location.href = url;
    }
}
</script>

<select onchange="navigateTo(this, 'window', false);">
<option selected="selected" value="http://www.example.com/#X">Change to URL X</option>
<option value="http://www.example.com/#Y">Change to URL Y</option>
</select>

Some useful values of target might be 'window' (the current window) or 'top' (to break out of a frameset or iframe). If you want to open a new window instead, you could use navigateTo(this, 'someWindow', true);

The value of '--- attributes ---' is set using various properties as documented here for Mozilla and here for IE. For example:

'height=300,width=400,top=100,left=100,statusbar=0,toolbar=1'

Answer 2

If you have jQuery you could do...

javascript:

$('#select_url').change(function(evnt){ location.href = $(this).val(); });

html:

...