jQuery filter by an attribute value
Not claiming this is any more elegant, but using filter() on a collection allows much more flexibility on what you can match on, and is a little less error prone than string concatenation.
var matching = $('.selectedColumns a').filter(function(){ return $(this).attr('attributeid') == 41 }); matching.prop('selected', true);
use a single = instead of 2. Also, the : shoudn't be there afaik
var link = $('.selectedColumns a[attributeid=' + $(this).val() + ']');
There's no need for the : or double = in your attribute-equals selector, it should just be:
$('.selectedColumns a[attributeid=' + $(this).val() + ']');Also if you're using invalid attributes, consider using data- attributes which are valid in HTML5, for example data-id instead of attributeid.