HTML Quick Reference (Page 5)


Introduction - Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4 - Page 5


Basic Document Tags
Style/Formatting Tags
Block Elements
Form Elements
Hypertext Link Elements
Image and Sound Tags
List Elements
Table Elements
Character Entities
Latin 1 Character Set (Named Character Entities)
Numbered Character Entities

Even the most accomplished HTML author often needs to refer back to a listing of HTML tags when putting together complex documents. Many HTML tags support several attributes, and can be used in many different ways. Keeping all the details of HTML committed to memory is close to impossible. This reference guide is designed to help you quickly recall the HTML tags and attributes you've learned about in this book.

HTML tags are divided into sections based on tag type. For each HTML tag, a description and list of possible attributes are provided. If the HTML tag is only supported by HTML 3.2, Netscape, or Internet Explorer, that limitation is also noted. This information is taken from the HTML 3.2 draft specification, as well as the Netscape and Internet Explorer release notes. Following the listing of HTML tags is a complete reference of all the named and numbered character entities for HTML. This listing is derived from the ISO 8859/1 Latin-1 character set.

Basic Document Tags

Tag Description Attributes
<BASE> Used to specify the full URL of the current document. HREF="…"
<BODY>…</BODY> Tag pair for the body section of the HTML document. The body section includes all of the text and markup tags in the document. BACKGROUND="…"BGCOLOR=... TEXT=... LINK=... ALINK=... VLINK=...
<HTML>…</HTML> <ISINDEX> Tag pair for the entire HTML document. Specifies to the server that this document can be searched. PROMPT="…"
<HEAD>…</HEAD> Tag pair for the head section of the HTML document.  
<TITLE>…</TITLE> Specifies the title of the document.  

Style/Formatting Tags

Tag Description Attributes Support Limited to
<A>…</A> When used with the HREF attribute, inserts a hyperlink into your HTML document. When used with the NAME attribute, inserts an anchor into your HTML document. (In HTML3, use of the <A> tag with the NAME attribute has been phased out. Instead, you should use the ID element inside block elements.) NAME="…" HREF="..."  
<B>…</B> Displays the enclosed characters in boldface.    
<BASEFONT> When used with the SIZE attribute, this tag overrides the default font size for the document. The font size can be any number from 1 to 7. The default is 3. SIZE=…  
<BIG>…</BIG> Displays the enclosed text in a larger font.   HTML 3.2
<BLINK>…</BLINK> Causes the enclosed text to blink repeatedly. Known to cause unpredictable behavior in laboratory animals. Use with extreme caution.   Netscape
<CITE>…</CITE> Formats the enclosed text in the logical citation style. This is used when you quote material from other works. Citation text is displayed by most browsers in italics.    
<CODE>…</CODE> Formats the enclosed text as computer code. This is best used when you're showing examples of programming code. <CODE> text is displayed by most browsers in a monospaced font, such as Courier.    
<DFN>…</DFN> The enclosed text is the defining instance of a term or phrase.    
<EM>…</EM> This logical markup tag instructs the browser to display the enclosed text with emphasis. Most browsers display <EM> text in italics.    
<FONT>…</FONT> This tag allows you to specify font attributes for the enclosed text. The<FONT> tag was originally a Netscape extension, but it is now further extended by Internet Explorer as well. COLOR=… FACE="…" SIZE=...  
<I>…</I> Displays the enclosed text in italics.    
<KBD>…</KBD> This logical markup tag is used to indicate that the enclosed text should be typed in by the reader exactly as shown.    
<SAMP>…</SAMP> This logical markup tag instructs the browser to display the enclosed text in sample style. This style is used for example material in your document.    
<SMALL>…</SMALL> Displays the enclosed text in a smaller font.    
<STRIKE>…</STRIKE> Displays the enclosed text in strike- through style, which places a horizontal line through the middle of the text.    
<STRONG>…</STRONG> This logical markup tag instructs the browser to display the enclosed text with strong emphasis. Most browsers display <STRONG> text in bold.    
<SUB>…</SUB> Displays the enclosed text in subscript, placing it slightly below the current line.    
<SUP>…</SUP> Displays the enclosed text in superscript, placing it slightly above the current line.    
<TT>…</TT> Displays the enclosed text in typewriter style. This is displayed by most browsers in a monospaced font.    
<VAR>…</VAR> This logical style is used to indicate variables, which are items to be supplied by the reader of the document.    

Block Elements

Tag Description Attributes Limited Support to
<ADDRESS>…</ADDRESS> The enclosed text is defined as specific address information, and is often used to indicate such information as e-mail address, signature, or authorship of the document. The <ADDRESS> information usually appears at the very top or bottom of the HTML document. Most browsers display <ADDRESS> information in italics. The address element implies a paragraph break before and after.    
<BLOCKQUOTE>…
</BLOCKQUOTE>
Used to mark a section (block) of text as a quote from another source. <BLOCKQUOTE> text is indented and spaced apart from the current paragraph by most browsers.    
<BR>…</BR> Inserts a line break at a specific point in the document.    
<CENTER>…</CENTER> Everything between these tags is centered in the document.    
<H1>…</H1> Creates a headline. The number following the H can have a value from 1 to 6, with 1 creating the largest headline. ALIGN=…  
<HR>…</HR> Places a horizontal rule across the document. NOSHADE SIZE=… WIDTH=…  
<MARQUEE>…
</MARQUEE>
Inserts a scrolling text marquee in the document. BEHAVIOR=… BGCOLOR=... DIRECTION=... HEIGHT=... LOOP=... SCROLLAMOUNT=... SCROLLDELAY=... WIDTH=... Internet Explorer
<P>…</P> Places a paragraph inside the document. The closing </P> tag is optional, but highly recommended, especially with HTML 3.2. ALIGN=… ID="…"  
<PRE>…</PRE> The enclosed text is preformatted. It is displayed in a monospaced font exactly as it appears in the HTML source code.    

Form Elements

Tag Description Attributes Limited Support to
<FORM>…</FORM> Inserts an input form into the HTML document. Used to define an area containing input fields for user feedback. The two attributes, ACTION and METHOD, are required. ACTION=... METHOD=...  
<INPUT> Inserts an input field in the form. The type of input field is determined using the TYPE attribute. Acceptable values for TYPE are TEXT, CHECKBOX, RADIO, SUBMIT, RESET, and HIDDEN CHECKED MAXLENGTH=…NAME=…
SIZE=…TYPE=…VALUE=…
 
<OPTION>…</OPTION> Defines an item for a SELECT input object. SELECTED  
<SELECT>…</SELECT> Inserts a selection input object, pop-up menu. MULTIPLE NAME=...SIZE=...  
<TEXTAREA>…
</TEXTAREA>
Inserts a multiline text input field. COLS=…NAME=…ROWS=…  

 

Hypertext Link Elements

Tag Description Attributes Limited Support to
<A>…</A> Marks the beginning and end of a hypertext link. Also used by earlier versions of HTML to mark an anchor by using the NAME attribute. Although still supported by HTML3, this use of the <A> and </A> tag pair has been superseded by the ID attribute. HREF=… NAME=…  
<AREA> Defines a clickable region inside a client-side image map. COORDS=x,y,x,y HREF=…NOHREFSHAPE=…  
<MAP>…</MAP> Defines a client-side image map. NAME=…  

 

Image and Sound Tags

Tag Description Attributes Limited Support to
<BGSOUND> Instructs the browser to play a sound or music file (.WAV or MIDI format) in the background. LOOP=… SRC="…" Internet Explorer
<IMG> Inserts an inline image into the HTML document. ALIGN=…ALT="…"BORDER=…CONTROLS DYNSRC="…"HEIGHT=...HSPACE=...ISMAP LOOP=...SRC="..."START=...USEMAP VSPACE=...WIDTH=...  

 

List Elements

Tag Description Attributes
<DD>…</DD> Inserts a definition description into a <DL> definition list. Used in conjunction with a <DT>…</DT> tag pair.  
<DL>…</DL> Inserts a definition list into the HTML document. Use the <DD> and <DT> tags to insert list items.  
<DT>…</DT> Inserts a definition title into a <DL> definition list. Used in conjunction with a <DD>…</DD> tag pair.  
<LI>…</LI> List item. Used with both ordered and unordered lists. The closing </LI> tag is optional.  
<OL>…</OL> Ordered list. Creates a list with items presented in sequential order. SEQNUM=… TYPE=… CONTINUE
<UL>…</UL> Unordered list. Creates a bulleted list of items presented in no particular order. TYPE=…

 

Table Elements

Tag Description Attributes
<CAPTION>…
</CAPTION>
Inserts a caption for the table. ALIGN=…
<TABLE>…</TABLE> Inserts a table in the HTML document. BGCOLOR=… BORDER=…BORDERCOLOR=…
BORDERCOLORDARK=...BORDERCOLORLIGHT=...
WIDTH=...CELLSPACING=...CELLPADDING=...
<TD>…</TD> Inserts a table data cell. BGCOLOR=…ROWSPAN=…COLSPAN=…
ALIGN=…VALIGN=…
<TH>…</TH> Inserts a table header cell. The text contained inside is usually displayed in bold and is centered inside the cell. BGCOLOR=…ROWSPAN=…COLSPAN=…
ALIGN=…VALIGN=…
<TR>…</TR> Defines a table row. All of the <TD>.and <TH> tags enclosed will appear in the same row of the table. ALIGN=…BGCOLOR=…VALIGN=...

 

Character Entities

Commonly Used Characters

Entity Description Example
&copy; copyright symbol ©
&reg; registered trademark symbol ®
&#153; trademark symbol
&nbsp; nonbreaking space  
&lt; less-than symbol <
&gt; greater-than symbol >
&amp; ampersand &
&quot; quotation mark "

 

Latin 1 Character Set (Named Character Entities)

This list is derived from the ISO 8859/1 character set. All of the entity names are case-sensitive.

Entity Description Example
&Aacute; Capital A, acute accent Á
&Agrave; Capital A, grave accent À
&Acirc; Capital A, circumflex accent Â
&Atilde; Capital A, tilde Ã
&Aring; Capital A, ring Å
&Auml; Capital A, dieresis or umlaut mark Ä
&AElig; Capital AE dipthong (ligature) Æ
&Ccedil; Capital C, cedilla Ç
&Eacute; Capital E, acute accent é
&Egrave; Capital E, grave accent È
&Ecirc; Capital E, circumflex accent Ê
&Euml; Capital E, dieresis or umlaut mark Ë
&Iacute; Capital I, acute accent Í
&Igrave; Capital I, grave accent í
&Icirc; Capital I, circumflex accent Î
&Iuml; Capital I, dieresis or umlaut mark Ï
&ETH; Capital Eth, Icelandic  
&Ntilde; Capital N, tilde Ñ
&Oacute; Capital O, acute accent Ó
&Ograve; Capital O, grave accent Ò
&Ocirc; Capital O, circumflex accent Ô
&Otilde Capital O, tilde '
&Ouml; Capital O, dieresis or umlaut mark Ö
&Oslash Capital O, slash Ø
&Uacute; Capital U, acute accent Ú
&Ugrave; Capital U, grave accent Ù
&Ucirc; Capital U, circumflex accent Û
&Uuml; Capital U, dieresis or umlaut mark ü
&Yacute; Capital Y, acute accent
&THORN; Capital THORN, Icelandic  
&aacute; Small a, acute accent á
&agrave; Small a, grave accent à
&acirc; Small a, circumflex accent â
&atilde; Small a, tilde ã
&auml; Small a, dieresis or umlaut mark ä
&aelig; Small ae dipthong (ligature) æ
&ccedil; Small c, cedilla ç
&eacute; Small e, acute accent é
&egrave; Small e, grave accent è
&ecirc; Small e, circumflex accent ê
&euml; Small e, dieresis or umlaut mark ë
&iacute; Small i, acute accent í
&igrave; Small i, grave accent ì
&icirc; Small i, circumflex accent î
&iuml; Small i, dieresis or umlaut mark ï
&eth; Small eth, Icelandic  
&ntilde Small n, tilde ñ
&oacute; Small o, acute accent ó
&ograve; Small o, grave accent ò
&ocirc; Small o, circumflex accent ô
&otilde; Small o, tilde õ
&ouml; Small o, dieresis or umlaut mark ö
&oslash Small o, slash ø
&szlig; Small sharp s, German (sz ligature) ß
&uacute Small u, acute accent ú
&ugrave Small u, grave accent ù
&ucirc; Small u, circumflex accent û
&uuml; Small u, dieresis or umlaut mark ü
&yacute Small y, acute accent ý
&thorn; Small thorn, Icelandic  
&yuml; Small y, dieresis or umlaut mark ÿ

 

Numbered Character Entities

Entity Description Example
&#01; - &#08; Unused  
&#09; Horizontal tab  
&#10; Line feed  
&#11; - &#31; Unused  
&#32; Space  
&#33; Exclamation mark !
&#34; Quotation mark "
&#35; Number sign #
&#36; Dollar sign $
&#37; Percent sign %
&#38; Ampersand &
&#39; Apostrophe '
&#40; Left parenthesis (
&#41; Right parenthesis )
&#42; Asterisk *
&#43; Plus sign +
&#44; Comma ,
&#45; Hyphen -
&#46; Period .
&#47; Forward slash /
&#48; - &#57; Digits 0-9  
&#58; Colon :
&#59; Semicolon ;
&#60; Less-than symbol <
&#61; Equal sign =
&#62; Greater-than symbol >
&#63; Question mark ?
&#64; Commercial at @
&#65; - &#90; Letters A-Z  
&#91; Left square bracket [
&#92; Reverse solidus (backslash) \
&#93; Right square bracket ]
&#94; Circumflex ^
&#95; Horizontal bar _
&#96; Grave accent `
&#97; - &#122; Letters a-z  
&#123; Left curly brace {
&#124; Vertical bar |
&#125; Right curly brace }
&#126; Tilde ~
&#127; - &#160; Unused  
&#161; Inverted exclamation ¡
&#162; Cent sign ¢
&#163; Pound sterling £
&#164; General currency sign ¤
&#165; Yen sign ¥
&#166; Broken vertical bar (pipe symbol) |
&#167; Section sign §
&#168; Umlaut (dieresis) ¨
&#169; Copyright ©
&#170; Feminine ordinal ª
&#171; Left angle quote, guillemotleft «
&#172; Not sign ¬
&#173; Soft hyphen -
&#174; Registered trademark ®
&#175; Macron accent ¯
&#176; Degree sign °
&#177; Plus or minus ±
&#178; Superscript two 2
&#179; Superscript three 3
&#180; Acute accent ´
&#181; Micro sign µ
&#182; Paragraph sign
&#183; Middle dot ·
&#184; Cedilla â
&#185; Superscript one 1
&#186; Masculine ordinal º
&#187; Right angle quote, guillemotright »
&#188; Fraction one-fourth ¼
&#189; Fraction one-half ½
&#190; Fraction three-fourths ¾
&#191; Inverted question mark ¿
&#192; Capital A, grave accent À
&#193; Capital A, acute accent Á
&#194; Capital A, circumflex accent Â
&#195; Capital A, tilde Ã
&#196; Capital A, ring Å
&#197; Capital A, dieresis or umlaut mark Ä
&#198; Capital AE dipthong (ligature) ®
&#199; Capital C, cedilla Ç
&#200; Capital E, grave accent È
&#201; Capital E, acute accent é
&#202; Capital E, circumflex accent Ê
&#203; Capital E, dieresis or umlaut mark Ë
&#204; Capital I, grave accent Ì
&#205; Capital I, acute accent Í
&#206; Capital I, circumflex accent Î
&#207; Capital I, dieresis or umlaut mark Ï
&#208; Capital Eth, Icelandic Ð
&#209; Capital N, tilde Ñ
&#210; Capital O, grave accent Ò
&#211; Capital O, acute accent î
&#212; Capital O, circumflex accent Ô
&#213; Capital O, tilde Õ
&#214; Capital O, dieresis or umlaut mark Ö
&#215; Multiplication sign x
&#216; Capital O, slash Ø
&#217; Capital U, grave accent Ù
&#218; Capital U, acute accent Ú
&#219; Capital U, circumflex accent Û
&#220; Capital U, dieresis or umlaut mark Ü
&#221; Capital Y, acute accent Ý
&#222; Capital THORN, Icelandic Þ
&#223; Small sharp s, German (sz ligature) ß
&#224; Small a, grave accent à
&#225; Small a, acute accent á
&#226; Small a, circumflex accent â
&#227; Small a, tilde ã
&#228; Small a, ring å
&#229; Small a, dieresis or umlaut mark ä
&#230; Small ae dipthong (ligature) æ
&#231; Small c, cedilla ç
&#232; Small e, grave accent è
&#233; Small e, acute accent é
&#234; Small e, circumflex accent ê
&#235; Small e, dieresis or umlaut mark ë
&#236; Small i, grave accent ì
&#237; Small i, acute accent í
&#238; Small i, circumflex accent î
&#239; Small i, dieresis or umlaut mark ï
&#240; Small eth, Icelandic ð
&#241; Small n, tilde ñ
&#242; Small o, grave accent ò
&#243; Small o, acute accent ó
&#244; Small o, circumflex accent ô
&#245; Small o, tilde õ
&#246; Small o, dieresis or umlaut mark ö
&#247; Division sign ÷
&#248; Small o, slash ø
&#249; Small u, grave accent ù
&#250; Small u, acute accent ú
&#251; Small u, circumflex accent û
&#252; Small u, dieresis or umlaut mark Ÿ
&#253; Small y, acute accent ý
&#254; Small thorn, Icelandic  
&#255; Small y, dieresis or umlaut mark ÿ

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