OnChange - get previous value? [duplicate]

Question

Is it possible to get the previous value from the OnChange event from a drop down? I need to see the previous selected value, so that I can make a decision on what I should display.

At the moment, I get the new value:

var id = $('.cmbType').val();

But would like to know what it was before the user selected this value.

Answer 1

You have to store the previous value yourself:

// store initial value
var initialValue = $('.cmbType').val();
$('.cmbType').data('previousValue', initialValue);

// change handler
$('.cmbType').change(function(e) {

    var previousValue = $(this).data('previousValue');

    // make decision
    alert(previousValue);

    // store previousValue
    $(this).data('previousValue', $(this).val());
});