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GBIC >> HTML >> Reference

Reference
Sometimes you just want to jump straight to the code, which is what this page provides. Each of the HTML tags are listed here for quick retreival - one table of tags grouped by category and a complete list of all tags in alphabetical order.

Category Listing End Tag Options
Alphabetical Listing Extensions (tags)
Alphabetical Listing w/Attributes Extensions (attributes)

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Category Listing of HTML Tags

The HTML tags can be grouped according to the display features they support. Almost a third of the tags are associated with simple text formatting - bold, italic, etc.

Document
<html>
<head>
<title>
<body>
    <frame>
<iframe>
<frameset>
<noframes>
<div>
<link>
<meta>
<span>
<style>



Text Formatting
<abbr>
<acronym>
<address>
<b>
~~<basefont>~~
<bdo>
<big>
<blockquote>
<cite>
<code>
<del>
<dfn>
<em>
~~<font>~~
<h1..6>
<i>
<ins>
<kbd>
<pre>
<q>
~~<s>~~
<samp>
<small>
~~<strike>~~
<strong>
<sub>
<sup>
<tt>
~~<u>~~
<var>



White Space
<br>
<hr>
~~<center>~~
<p>

Images/Sound
<area>
<img>
<map>


Links
<a>
<base>


Lists
<dd>
~~<dir>~~
<dl>
<dt>
<li>
~~<menu>~~
<ol>
<ul>


Forms
<button>
<fieldset>
<form>
<input>
~~<isindex>~~
<label>
<legend>
<optgroup>
<option>
<select>
<textarea>


Tables
<caption>
<col>
<colgroup>
<table>
<tbody>
<td>
<tfoot>
<th>
<thead>
<tr>


Objects
~~<applet>~~
<noscript>
<object>
<param>
<script>

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Alphabetical Listing of HTML Tags

Tag names listed in strikethru font are valid HTML 4.01 tags but have been deprecated, which means that their use is to be avoided and will eventually eliminated from the HTML specification.

However, remember that browsers often use tags which have become popular with HTML authors. Such tags will often be supported even once they are dropped from the HTML specification so that existing HTML code will continue to display correctly.

<a> Anchor
<abbr> Abbreviated form
<acronym> Acronym
<address> Information on author
~~<applet>~~ Java applet
<area> Client-side image map area
<b> Bold
<base> Document base URL
~~<basefont>~~ Document base font size
<bdo> Direction of text display
<big> Large text
<blockquote> Long quotation (multi-line)
<body> Document body (section of HTML page)
<br> Forced line break (advance to next line)
<button> Push button
<caption> Table caption
~~<center>~~ Center content between margins
<cite> Citation
<code> Computer code fragment
<col> Table column
<colgroup> Table column group
<dd> Definition description
<del> Deleted text
<dfn> Instance definition
~~<dir>~~ Directory list
<div> Generic language/style container
<dl> Definition list
<dt> Definition term
<em> Emphasis
<fieldset> Form control group
~~<font>~~ Local change to font
<form> Interactive form
<frame> Subwindow (a window within the page)
<frameset> Window subdivision
<h1> to <h6> Heading (various sizes)
<head> Document head (section of HTML page)
<hr> Horizontal rule
<html> Document root element (HTML document)
<i> Italic text
<iframe> Inline frame (a window within the page)
<img> Embedded image
<input> Form control
<ins> Inserted text
~~<isindex>~~ Single line prompt
<kbd> Text to be entered by the user
<label> Form field
<legend> Fieldset title
<li> List item
<link> Media-independent link (resource reference)
<map> Client-side image map
~~<menu>~~ Menu list
<meta> Generic information about the HTML page
<noframes> Alternate content for non-frame rendering
<noscript> Alternate content for non-script rendering
<object> Generic embedded object (within the HTML page)
<ol> Ordered list
<optgroup> Option group
<option> Selectable choice
<p> Paragraph (insert a blank line)
<param> Named property value for object
<pre> Preformatted text
<q> Short inline quotation
~~<s>~~ Strikethru text
<samp> Sample computer code
<script> Script statements
<select> Option selector
<small> Small text
<span> Generic language/style container
~~<strike>~~ Strikethru text
<strong> Strong emphasis
<style> Style definition/information
<sub> Subscripted text
<sup> Superscripted text
<table> Table (column and row formatted information)
<tbody> Table body
<td> Table cell
<textarea> Multi-line text field
<tfoot> Table footer
<th> Table header cell
<thead> Table header
<title> Document title (of the HTML page)
<tr> Table row
<tt> Teletype or monospaced text
~~<u>~~ Underlined text
<ul> Unordered list
<var> Instance of variable or program argument

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Alphabetical Listing w/Attributes

Most, but not all, of the HTML tags allow you to include various parameters (called attributes) to modify how the tag displays the text or objects enclosed between the tags. Here's an alphabetical listing of all HTML tags and their attributes. Some attributes allow you to put in a simple value of your choosing. Where an attribute requires a specific text or number values, the allowed values are listed.

Of the many supported attributes, several are supported by the majority of tags. These "core" attributes include:

id / class / style / title
lang / dir
onclick / ondblclick
onkeydown / onkeyup / onkeypress
onmousedown / onmouseup / onmouseover / onmouseout

To shorten the list below, when these attributes apply to a tag, a one-line version of the applicable attributes will be used, such as:

id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..

where the onclick../onkey../onmouse.. represents all ten of the "on" event attributes. If the complete set of core attributes doesn't apply, then the list below will show just those attributes which do apply.

Also, the HTML 4.01 specification has created 3 attributes (datasrc, datafld, and dataformatas) which are reserved for future use of the span, div, object, input, select, textarea, button and table tags. These reserved attributes are not included in the table below.

Tag Description/Attributes Attribute Description Attribute Values
<a> Definition: anchor
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
accesskey shortcut key
charset char encoding of linked resource
coords xy coordinates
href URL you are linking to
hreflang language code
name name a section of the page
onblur element lost the focus
onfocus element got the focus
rel forward link type
rev reverse link type
shape geometry used in image map
tabindex position in tabbing order
target which window the document should go in "_blank" | "_parent" | "_self" | "_top" | window name
type content type
<abbr> Definition: abbreviated formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<acronym> Definition: acronym formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<address> Definition: address formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
~~<applet>~~ Definition: java applet
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title
align alignment of applet to surrounding text LEFT | RIGHT | TOP | MIDDLE | BOTTOM | BASELINE
alt text to display while loading/or if not available
archive a compressed collection of applet components
code the applet to run
codebase path to the applet class
height height of the applet
hspace horizontal space between applet and surrounding text
name name of applet for reference by other applets
object applet file
vspace vertical space between applet and surrounding text
width width of the applet
<area> Definition: image mag area
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
accesskey shortcut key
alt alternate text if the image isn't displayed
coords coordinates for the link area shape
href URL you are linking to
nohref this area is not a link
onblur element lost focus
onfocus element got focus
shape shape of image area RECT | CIRCLE | POLY | DEFAULT
tabindex position in tabbing order
target what frame to go to
<b> Definition: bold
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<base> Definition: default link for URLs
Core Attributes: none
href default address for hypertext links
target default window for linked documents "_blank" | "_parent" | "_self" | "_top" | frame name
~~<basefont>~~ Definition: doc font
Core Attributes: none
color font color
face font family
id identifies elment within document
size font size
<bdo> Definition: Direction of text
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir
Attributes: none
<big> Definition: big formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<blockquote> Definition: multi-line quote
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
cite reason for change
<body> Definition: doc body
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
alink color of links while you are clicking on them
background background picture for the page
bgcolor background color of the page
link color of links that haven't been followed yet
onLoad script to run once the page is fully loaded
onUnload script to run
text color of the text on the page
vlink color of links that have been followed
<br> Definition: break
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title
clear go past a picture or other object LEFT | RIGHT | ALL | BOTH
<button> Definition: button
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
accesskey shortcut key for this button
disabled disable this button
name name of this button element
onblur element lost focus
onfocus element got focus
tabindex tab order
type what type of button is this BUTTON | SUBMIT | RESET
value the value sent with the form
<caption> Definition: caption formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align alignment of caption to table TOP | BOTTOM | LEFT | RIGHT
~~<center>~~ Definition: center
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<cite> Definition: citation
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<code> Definition: code formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<col> Definition: columns
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align horizontal alignment LEFT | CENTER | RIGHT | JUSTIFY
char alignment character
charoff offset for alignment character
span how many columns this affects
valign vertical alignment
width width of the column
<colgroup> Definition: column group
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align alignment of cell contents
char alignment character
charoff offset for alignment character
span how many columns this affects
valign vertical alignment
width width of the column group
<dd> Definition: definition description
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<del> Definition: deleted formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
cite reason for change
datetime date and time of change
<dfn> Definition: definition formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
~~<dir>~~ Definition: directory list
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
compact reduced inter-item spacing
<div> Definition: document partition
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align text alignment ALIGN = LEFT | CENTER | RIGHT | JUSTIFY
<dl> Definition: definition list
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
compact take up less space
<dt> Definition: definition term
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<em> Definition: emphasis
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<fieldset> Definition: group of form elements
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
~~<font>~~ Definition: font
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir
color color of the text
face set the typestyle for text
size size of the font
<form> Definition: form field
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
accept list of MIME types for file upload
accept-charset list of supported charsets
action URL of the CGI program
enctype what type of form this is "multipart/form-data"
| "application/x-www-form-urlencoded" | "text/plain"
method how to transfer the data to the CGI GET | POST
name name of this form
onReset script to run before the form is reset
onSubmit script to run before the form is submitted
target what frames to put the results in "_blank" | "_parent" | "_self" | "_top" | frame name
<frame> Definition: frame
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title
frameborder should this frame have a border? YES | 1 | NO | 0
longdesc link to long description
marginheight the internal top and bottom margins for the frame
marginwidth the internal left and right margins for the frame
name the name of the frame
noresize don't let the user make the frame bigger or smaller
scrolling should the frame have a scrollbar? YES | NO | AUTO
src what file to put in the frame
<frameset> Definition: group of frames
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title
cols how many cols in the frameset
onLoad all frames have been loaded
onUnload all frames have been removed
rows ROWS: how many rows in the frameset
<h1> - <h6> Definition: header
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align alignment LEFT | RIGHT | CENTER | JUSTIFY
<head> Definition: doc header
Core Attributes: lang/dir
profile named dictionary of meta information
<hr> Definition: horizontal rule
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align horizontal alignment of the line LEFT | RIGHT | CENTER
noshade don't use shadow effect
size height
width horizontal width of the line
<html> Definition: html document
Core Attributes: lang/dir
version HTML release
<i> Definition: italiic
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<iframe> Definition: inline frame
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title
align alignment of the frame object to text around it LEFT | RIGHT | TOP | TEXTTOP | MIDDLE
| ABSMIDDLE | CENTER | BOTTOM | ABSBOTTOM | BASELINE
frameborder if the frame should have a border around it 1 | 0
height height of the inline frame
longdesc URL of a long description of the contents of the frame
marginheight internal top/bottom margin for the frame
marginwidth internal left/right margin for the frame
name name of this inline frame
scrolling if the frame should have scroll bars YES | NO | AUTO
src URL of the document to go in the frame
width width of the inline frame
<img> Definition: image
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align how text should flow around the picture LEFT | RIGHT | TOP | TEXTTOP | MIDDLE
| ABSMIDDLE | BOTTOM | ABSBOTTOM | BASELINE
alt text to show if you don't show the picture
border border around the picture
height how tall is the picture
hspace horizontal distance between the picture and the text
ismap is this a clickable map?
longdesc URL of a long description of the image
name name of this element
src where to get the picture
usemap name of the map definition
vspace vertical distance between the picture and the text
width how wide is the picture
<input> Definition: form field
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
accept list of MIME types for file upload
accesskey shortcut key
align how text should flow around the picture LEFT | RIGHT | TOP | TEXTTOP | MIDDLE
| ABSMIDDLE | CENTER | BOTTOM | ABSBOTTOM | BASELINE
alt text to show if you don't show the picture
checked check this checkbox or radio button
disabled don't let the user do anything with this field
ismap user server-side image map
maxlength maximum number of characters
name name of this form field
onBlur when this field loses the focus
onChange when this field is changed
onFocus when this field gets the focus
onSelect when a selection is made
readonly the value of this field cannot be changed
size how wide the text field should be
src URL of image
tabindex tab order
type what type of field TEXT | CHECKBOX | RADIO | PASSWORD | HIDDEN
| SUBMIT | RESET | BUTTON | FILE | IMAGE
usemap use client-side image map
value initial or only value of this field
<ins> Definition: inserted formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
cite reason for change
datetime date and time of change
~~<isindex>~~ Definition: form (old version)
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir
prompt prompt string to show before the text entry area
<kbd> Definition: keyboard
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<label> Definition: label
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
accesskey shortcut key
for form element for which this is a label
onblur element lost focus
onfocus element got focus
<legend> Definition: table legend
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
accesskey shortcut key
align text alignment of table legend RIGHT | CENTER | LEFT
<li> Definition: list item
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
type type of bullet or numeral DISC | CIRCLE | SQUARE | 1 | A | a | I | i
value where to continue counting
<link> Definition: link
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
charset character encoding of linked resource
href URL of related document
hreflang language code
media what media type the link applies to SCREEN | PRINT | PROJECTION | AURAL
| BRAILLE | ALL | other media
rel relationship to this page
rev reverse relationship to this page
target render in this frame
type MIME type of linked resource
<map> Definition: image map
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
name name of this map
~~<menu>~~ Definition: menu list
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
compact reduced inter-item spacing
<meta> Definition: document information
Core Attributes: lang/dir
content metainformation content
http-equiv name of the pretend HTTP header
name The pupose of this META tag KEYWORDS | DESCRIPTION | REFRESH | many others
scheme select form of content
<noframes> Definition: alternate content
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<noscript> Definition: alternate content
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<object> Definition: generic embedded object
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align vertical or horizontal alignment
archive space-separated list of URLs
border link border width
classid identifies an implementation
codebase optional baswe URL for applet
codetype content type for code
data reference to object's data
declare declare but don't instantiate flag
height override height
hspace horizontal gutter
name submit as part of form
standby message to show while loading
tabindex position in tabbing order
type content type for data
usemap use server-side image map
vspace vertical gutter
width override width
<ol> Definition: ordered list
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
compact reduced inter-item spacing
start where to start counting
type type of numerals 1 | A | a | I | i
<optgroup> Definition: option group
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
disabled not available for user interaction
label for use in heirarchical menus
<option> Definition: option
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
disabled not available for user interaction
label for use in heirarchical menus
selected this option is selected by default
value what's the value if this option is chosen
<p> Definition: paragraph
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align alignment of text within the paragraph LEFT | CENTER | RIGHT | JUSTIFY
<param> Definition: parameters
Core Attributes: none
id document-wide unique id
name name of the parameter
type content type
value value of the parameter
valuetype how to interpret value
<pre> Definition: pre-formatted
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
width maximum page wide
<q> Definition: short inline quotation
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
cite reason for change
~~<s>~~ Definition: strikeout
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<samp> Definition: sample formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<script> Definition: script language
Core Attributes: none
charset character encoding of linked resource
defer continue loading page while downloading script
event the event this script handles
for object for which this script is an event handler
language deprecated indicator of language JAVASCRIPT | LIVESCRIPT | VBSCRIPT | other
src external source for script
type which scripting language to use "text/javascript" | "text/vbscript" | other scripting language
<select> Definition: select item
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
disabled don't let the user do anything with this field
multiple allow more than one choice
name name of this form element
onBlur script to run when this field loses the focus
onChange onChange: what to do when a new option is selected
onFocus script to run when this field gets the focus
size how many options to show
tabindex tab order
<small> Definition: small formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<span> Definition: document partition
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
~~<strike>~~ Definition: strikeout
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<strong> Definition: strong formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<style> Definition: style rules
Core Attributes: lang/dir
media type of media this syle applies to
title advisory title
type style language
<sub> Definition: subscript
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<sup> Definition: superscript
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<table> Definition: table
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align alignment of table to surrounding text LEFT | RIGHT
bgcolor color of the background
border size of border around the table
cellpadding space between the edge of a cell and the contents
cellspacing space between cells
datapagesize reserved
frame parts of outside border that are visible VOID | BOX | BORDER | ABOVE | BELOW
| LHS | RHS | HSIDES | VSIDES
rules if there should be internal borders NONE | ALL | COLS | ROWS | GROUPS
summary summary of the purpose of the table
width width of the table as a whole
<tbody> Definition: table body
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align text alignment
char alignment character
charoff offset for alignment character
valign vertical gutter
<td> Definition: table cell
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
abbr abbreviation for header cell
align horizontal alignment of cell contents LEFT | CENTER | MIDDLE | RIGHT
axis comma-separated list of related headers
bgcolor color of the background
char alignment character
charoff offset for alignment character
colspan number of columns to cover
headers list of id's for header cells
height height of cell
don't word wrap
rowspan number of rows to cover
scope scope covered by header cells
valign vertical alignment of cell contents TOP | MIDDLE | CENTER | BOTTOM | BASELINE
width width of cell
<textarea> Definition: multi-row text
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
accesskey shortcut key
cols how many characters wide
disabled don't let the user do anything with this field
name name of this form field
onBlur element lost focus
onChange script to run when the user has changed the textarea
onFocus element got focus
onSelect option selected
readonly don't let the user change the contents of the field
rows how many rows
tabindex tab order
<tfoot> Definition: table foot
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align text alignment
char alignment character
charoff offset for alignment character
valign vertical gutter
<th> Definition: table header
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
abbr abbreviation for header cell
align horizontal alignment of cell contents LEFT | CENTER | MIDDLE | RIGHT
axis comma-separated list of related headers
bgcolor color of the background
char alignment character
charoff offset for alignment character
colspan number of columns to cover
headers list of id's for header cells
height height of cell
don't word wrap
rowspan number of rows to cover
scope scope covered by header cells
valign vertical alignment of cell contents TOP | MIDDLE | CENTER | BOTTOM | BASELINE
width width of cell
<thead> Definition: table head
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align text alignment
char alignment character
charoff offset for alignment character
valign vertical gutter
<title> Definition: doc title
Core Attributes: lang/dir
Attributes: none
<tr> Definition: table row
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
align horizontal alignment of cell contents LEFT | CENTER | RIGHT
bgcolor background color for row
char alignment character
charoff offset for alignment character
valign vertical alignment of cell contents TOP | MIDDLE | BOTTOM | BASELINE
<tt> Definition: teletype
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
~~<u>~~ Definition: underline
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
<ul> Definition: unordered list
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
compact minimize space
type type of bullets DISC | CIRCLE | SQUARE
<var> Definition: variable formatting
Core Attributes: id/class/style/title/lang/dir/onclick../onkey../onmouse..
Attributes: none
Tag Description/Attributes Attribute Description Attribute Values

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End Tags

According to the HTML 4.01 specification some tags have end tags, but their use is considered optional. Additionally, some tags have no end tags at all. Here's the corresponding tag lists:

Optional End Tags
<body>
<colgroup>
<dd>
<dt>
<head>
<html>
<li>
<option>
<p>
<tbody>
<td>
<tfoot>
<th>
<thead>
<tr>

No End Tags
<area>
<base>
<basefont>
<br>
<col>
<frame>
<hr>
<img>
<input>
<isindex>
<link>
<meta>
<param>

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Extensions (tags)

Sometimes the companies who make browsers will add support for a tag or attribute that is not in the HTML specifications. Some of these become popular and are eventually added to the HTML specification, some go away, and some continue to be supported by only a single browser.

While it is easy to recommend that all HTML pages be written in strict HTML (no deprecated tags or attributes and no browser extensions), there are times when an author may find it convenient not to follow the recommendation.

For example, if you know that your audience will be using the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, then there's no reason not to use Microsoft's HTML extensions. There's no guarantee that MSIE will continue to use the custom tags, but the history of such extensions shows a lifetime of several years, so the decision to use them may not put the author at risk - particularly for pages with short life-times.

Here is an alphabetical listing of just the names of the extensions (custom tags) available from MS Internet Explorer and Netscape. Note: the <listing>, <xmp>, and <xmp> tags were in earlier HTML specifications and are still supported by browsers.

<bgsound>	I	<multicol>	N
<embed>	NI	<nobr>	NI
<ilayers>	N	<noembed>	NI
<layer>	N	<spacer>	NI
<listing>	NI	<wbr>	NI
<marquee>	I	<xmp>	NI

And here are the attributes that go with these browser extensions:

Tag Description/Attributes Attribute Description Attribute Values
<bgsound> Definition: background sound
Core Attributes: ...
loop number of times to play the sound...
src URL of sound file (.wav or .mid)
<embed> Definition: embeds object for plug-in handling (obsolete HTML tag)
Core Attributes: ...
align how text flows around the object
border border around the object
height height of the object obsolete HTML attribute
hidden makes object invisible to user HTML tag (not extension by vendor)
hspace horizontal space between object and text
name name of the object HTML tag (not extension by vendor)
palette Windows pallette (N) or FG/BG colors (I) HTML tag (not extension by vendor)
pluginspace URL of download instructions
src URL of ojbect to be embedded HTML tag (not extension by vendor)
type MIME type
units height/width units PIXELS | EN HTML tag (not extension by vendor)
vspace vertical space between object and text
width width of the object HTML tag (not extension by vendor)
<ilayer> Definition: Inline version of layer
Core Attributes: style/class
above stacking order
background background image
below stacking order
bgcolor background color
clip mask off portion of layer
left absolute left offset for object display
name ...
src URL of contents
top absolute top offset for object display
visibility hide from view SHOW | HIDE | INHERIT
width width allocation
z-index stacking order
<layer> Definition: Container that can be accurately positioned
Core Attributes: style/class
above stacking order
background background image
below stacking order
bgcolor background color
clip mask off portion of layer
left absolute left offset for object display
name ...
src URL of contents
top absolute top offset for object display
visibility hide from view SHOW | HIDE | INHERIT
width width allocation
z-index stacking order
<listing> Definition: Defines region of unformatted text
Core Attributes: class/style
Attributes: none
<marquee> Definition: area of scrolling text
Core Attributes: ...
align position with respect to adjacent text TOP | MIDDLE | BOTTOM
behavior method of scrolling SCROLL | SLIDE | ALTERNATE
bgbolor background color
direction direction of scrolling LEFT | RIGHT | INFINITE
height height of display
hspace horizontal space from surrounding text
loop how many times to scroll
scrolldelay how often to move
scrollamount number of pixels to move
vspace vertical space from surrounding text
width width of display
<multicol> Definition:
Core Attributes: style/class
cols number of columns
gutter space between columns
width column width
<nobr> Definition: Defines area with no line breaks
Core Attributes: none
Attributes: none
<noembed> Definition: alternate text for embedded object
Core Attributes: none
Attributes: none
<spacer> Definition:
Core Attributes: none
align position with respect to surrounding text
height height of whitespace (block only)
size vertical/horizontal white space
type defines type of white space HORIZONTAL | VERTICAL | BLOCK
width width of whitespace (block only)
<wbr> Definition: allows (not forces) line break
Core Attributes: none
Attributes: none
<xmp> Definition: specifies fixed width text
Core Attributes: class/style
Attributes: none

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Extensions (attributes)

In addition to creating new tags, as was described in the section above, browsers have also created new attributes for existing HTML tags. Sometimes these attributes become popular and are added to future HTML specifications. The follow tables show the custom attributes offerred by Netscape and MS Internet Explorer. None of these are part of the HTML 4.01 specification.

body basefont hr img area isindex meta form input
bgproperties (I)
leftmargin (I)
(NI)
onblur (NI)
onfocus (NI)
topmargin (I) name (I) color (I)
(I) controls (I)
dynsrc (I)
loop (I)
start (I)
lowsrc (N)
name (N) notab (I)
taborder (I)
target (NI) action (I) charset (I) name (N) notab (I)
taborder (I)

textarea table tr th/td caption frame
wrap (N) background (I)
bordercolor (NI)
bordercolordark (I)
bordercolorlight (I)
cols (NI)
height (NI)
hspace (N)
(I)
align (I)
vspace (N) bordercolor (I)
bordercolordark (I)
bordercolorlight (I)
(NI) background (I)
bordercolor (I)
bordercolordark (I)
bordercolorlight (I)
(NI) valign (I) border (N)
bordercolor (N)
frameborder (NI)
framespacing (I)

frameset applet embed div
bordercolor (N) mayscript (N) align (N)
border (N)
height (HTML)
hidden (HTML)
hspace (N)
name (HTML)
palette (HTML)
pluginspace (N)
src (HTML)
type (N)
units (HTML)
vspace (N)
width (all) (I)