How can I set a Global Variable from within a function

Question

How can I set a Global Variable from within a function?

$(document).ready(function() {
    var option = '';

    $("[name=select_option_selected]").change(function() { 
        var option = $(this).val();
        alert(option); // Example: Foo  
    });

    alert(option); // Need it to alert Foo from the above change function    
});

Answer 1

Declare it outside the scope of your jQuery onready

var option = '';

$(document).ready(function() {
    $("[name=select_option_selected]").change(function() { 
        option = $(this).val();
        alert(option); // Example: Foo  
    });

    alert(option); //This will never be "Foo" since option isn't set until that select list changes
});

if you want to initialize this to the current selected value try this:

var option = "";
var $select_option_selected = null;

$(function() {        
    $select_option_selected = $("[name='select_option_selected']")
    $select_option_selected.change(function() { 
        option = $(this).val();
    });    
    option = $select_option_selected.val();
});