PHP: Request the values of a HTML form drop down list

Question

I have a HTML form which is using a simple PHP mail() script to send its contents to an email address. I have just implemented a drop down list:

Answer 1

Use this for your html form:

<select name="event">
 <option value="event1">Event 1</option>
 <option value="event2">Event 2</option>
 <option value="event3">Event 3</option>
</select>

And use this on your php page that your form submits to:

$event = $_POST['event']

or

$event = $_GET['event']

Answer 2

Each option element does not get its own name, just a value.

Source: http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/interact/forms.html#h-17.6

Remove the name attribute from your option elements:

<select name="event">
  <option value="event1">Event 1</option>
  <option value="event2">Event 2</option>
  <option value="event3">Event 3</option>  
</select>

And depending on the method (post or get) your form element is using, you should use either:

$event = $_POST["event"];

or

$event = $_GET["event"];

Don't forget to use htmlspecialchars() or mysqli_real_escape_string() if saving to a database or printing back to the user in addition to using mail().