forcing a definite size on a select multiple element

When a select multiple element is empty (without any options), the dimensions of the element become zero and shows only the scroll bar , also the element resizes according to the size of the data of the options . How can i create a select multiple element with a definite size which does not change irrespective 开发者_JAVA技巧of the above two factors? Thanks in advance

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Use CSS:

select.multiple {
   width: 200px;
   height: 400px;
}

The above assumes your select has class="multiple", but obviously you can set your CSS selector to ID or whatever suits, and of course you'll set the dimensions and units to suit your specific case.