select2 multi select
######## In your HTML: <select class="js-example-basic-multiple" name="states[]" multiple="multiple"> <option value="AL">Alabama</option> ... <option value="WY">Wyoming</option> </select> ####### In your Javascript (external .js resource or <script> tag): $(document).ready(function() { $('.js-example-basic-multiple').select2(); }); ######### Get Selected values $('.js-example-basic-multiple').select2('val') ######## Pre select values on page loads $('.js-example-basic-multiple').val(['AL', 'WY']).trigger('change');