HTML Basics

BASIC ELEMENTS

Document Type <HTML></HTML> (beginning and end of file)

Title <TITLE></TITLE> (must be in header)

Header <HEAD></HEAD> (descriptive info, such as title)

Body <BODY></BODY> (bulk of the page)

STRUCTURAL DEFINITION

Heading <H?></H?> (the spec. defines 6 levels)

Align Heading <H? ALIGN=LEFT|CENTER|RIGHT></H?>

Division <DIV></DIV>

Align Division <DIV ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER|JUSTIFY></DIV>

Defined Content <SPAN></SPAN>

Block Quote <BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE> (usually indented)

Quote <Q></Q> (for short quotations)

Citation <Q CITE="URL"></Q>

Emphasis <EM></EM> (usually displayed as italic)

Strong Emphasis <STRONG></STRONG> (usually displayed as bold)

Citation <CITE></CITE> (usually italics)

Code <CODE></CODE> (for source code listings)

Sample Output <SAMP></SAMP>

Keyboard Input <KBD></KBD>

Variable <VAR></VAR>

Definition <DFN></DFN> (not widely implemented)

Author's Address <ADDRESS></ADDRESS>

Large Font Size <BIG></BIG>

Small Font Size <SMALL></SMALL>

Insert <INS></INS> (marks additions in a new version)

Time of Change <INS DATETIME=":::"></INS>

Comments <INS CITE="URL"></INS>

Delete <DEL></DEL> (marks deletions in a new version)

Time of Change <DEL DATETIME=":::"></DEL>

Comments <DEL CITE="URL"></DEL>

Acronym <ACRONYM></ACRONYM>

Abbreviation <ABBR></ABBR>

PRESENTATION FORMATTING

Bold <B></B>

Italic <I></I>

Underline <U></U> (not widely implemented)

Strikeout <STRIKE></STRIKE> (not widely implemented)

Strikeout <S></S> (not widely implemented)

Subscript <SUB></SUB>

Superscript <SUP></SUP>

Typewriter <TT></TT> (displays in a monospaced font)

Preformatted <PRE></PRE> (display text spacing as-is)

Width <PRE WIDTH=?></PRE> (in characters)

Center <CENTER></CENTER> (for both text and images)

Blinking <BLINK></BLINK> (the most derided tag ever)

Font Size <FONT SIZE=?></FONT> (ranges from 1-7)

Change Font Size <FONT SIZE="+|-?"></FONT>

Font Color <FONT COLOR="#$$$$$$"></FONT>

Select Font <FONT FACE="***"></FONT>

Point size <FONT POINT-SIZE=?></FONT>

Weight <FONT WEIGHT=?></FONT>

Base Font Size <BASEFONT SIZE=?> (from 1-7; default is 3)

Marquee <MARQUEE></MARQUEE>

POSITIONING

Multi-Column <MULTICOL COLS=?></MULTICOL>

Column Gutter <MULTICOL GUTTER=?></MULTICOL>

Column Width <MULTICOL WIDTH=?></MULTICOL>

Spacer <SPACER>

Spacer Type <SPACER TYPE=HORIZONTAL|VERTICAL|BLOCK>

Size <SPACER SIZE=?>

Dimensions <SPACER WIDTH=? HEIGHT=?>

Alignment <SPACER ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER>

Layer <LAYER></LAYER>

Name <LAYER ID="***"></LAYER>

Location <LAYER LEFT=? TOP=?></LAYER>

Rel. Position <LAYER PAGEX=? PAGEY=?></LAYER>

Source File <LAYER SRC="***"></LAYER>

Stacking <LAYER Z-INDEX=?></LAYER>

Stack Position <LAYER ABOVE="***" BELOW="***"></LAYER>

Dimensions <LAYER HEIGHT=? WIDTH=?></LAYER>

Clipping Path <LAYER CLIP=,,,></LAYER>

Visible? <LAYER VISIBILITY=SHOW|HIDDEN|INHERIT></LAYER>

Background <LAYER BACKGROUND="$$$$$$"></LAYER>

Color <LAYER BGCOLOR="$$$$$$"></LAYER>

Inline Layer <ILAYER></ILAYER> (same attributes as LAYER)

Alt. Content <NOLAYER></NOLAYER>

LINKS, GRAPHICS, AND SOUNDS

Link Something <A HREF="URL"></A>

Link to Location <A HREF="URL#***"></A> (if in another document)

Link to Location <A HREF="#***"></A> (if in current document)

Target Window <A HREF="URL" TARGET="***"></A>

Action on Click <A HREF="URL" ONCLICK="***"></A> (Javascript)

Mouseover Action <A HREF="URL" ONMOUSEOVER="***"></A> (Javascript)

Mouse out Action <A HREF="URL" ONMOUSEOUT="***"></A> (Javascript)

Link to Email <A HREF="mailto:@"></A>

Specify Subject <A HREF="mailto:@?SUBJECT=***"></A> (use a real question mark)

Define Location <A NAME="***"></A>

Display Image <IMG SRC="URL">

Alignment <IMG SRC="URL" ALIGN=TOP|BOTTOM|MIDDLE|LEFT|RIGHT>

Alignment <IMG SRC="URL" ALIGN=TEXTTOP|ABSMIDDLE|BASELINE|ABSBOTTOM>

Alternate <IMG SRC="URL" ALT="***"> (if image not displayed)

Dimensions <IMG SRC="URL" WIDTH=? HEIGHT=?> (in pixels)

Dimensions <IMG SRC="URL" WIDTH=% HEIGHT=%> (percent of page width/height)

Border <IMG SRC="URL" BORDER=?> (in pixels)

Runaround Space <IMG SRC="URL" HSPACE=? VSPACE=?> (in pixels)

Low-Res Proxy <IMG SRC="URL" LOWSRC="URL">

Imagemap <IMG SRC="URL" ISMAP> (requires a script)

Imagemap <IMG SRC="URL" USEMAP="URL">

Movie Clip <IMG DYNSRC="***" START="***" LOOP=?>

Background Sound <BGSOUND SRC="***" LOOP=?|INFINITE>

Client-Side Map <MAP NAME="***"></MAP> (describes the map)

Map Section <AREA SHAPE="DEFAULT|RECT|CIRCLE|POLY" COORDS=",,," HREF="URL"|NOHREF>

Client Pull <META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" CONTENT="?; URL=URL">

Embed Object <EMBED SRC="URL"> (insert object into page)

Object Size <EMBED SRC="URL" WIDTH=? HEIGHT=?>

Object <OBJECT></OBJECT>

Parameters <PARAM>

DIVIDERS

Paragraph <P></P> (closing tag often unnecessary)

Align Text <P ALIGN=LEFT|CENTER|RIGHT></P>

Justify Text <P ALIGN=JUSTIFY></P>

Line Break <BR> (a single carriage return)

Clear Textwrap <BR CLEAR=LEFT|RIGHT|ALL>

Horizontal Rule <HR>

Alignment <HR ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER>

Thickness <HR SIZE=?> (in pixels)

Width <HR WIDTH=?> (in pixels)

Width Percent <HR WIDTH="%"> (as a percentage of page width)

Solid Line <HR NOSHADE> (without the 3D cutout look)

No Break <NOBR></NOBR> (prevents line breaks)

Word Break <WBR> (where to break a line if needed)

LISTS

Unordered List <UL><LI></UL> (before each list item)

Compact <UL COMPACT></UL>

Bullet Type <UL TYPE=DISC|CIRCLE|SQUARE> (for the whole list)

Bullet Type <LI TYPE=DISC|CIRCLE|SQUARE> (this & subsequent)

Ordered List <OL><LI></OL> (before each list item)

Compact <OL COMPACT></OL>

Numbering Type <OL TYPE=A|a|I|i|1> (for the whole list)

Numbering Type <LI TYPE=A|a|I|i|1> (this & subsequent)

Starting Number <OL START=?> (for the whole list)

Starting Number <LI VALUE=?> (this & subsequent)

Definition List <DL><DT><DD></DL> (<DT>=term, <DD>=definition)

Compact <DL COMPACT></DL>

Menu List <MENU><LI></MENU> (before each list item)

Compact <MENU COMPACT></MENU>

Directory List <DIR><LI></DIR> (before each list item)

Compact <DIR COMPACT></DIR>

BACKGROUNDS AND COLORS

Tiled Bkground <BODY BACKGROUND="URL">

Watermark <BODY BGPROPERTIES="FIXED">

Bkground Color <BODY BGCOLOR="#$$$$$$"> (order is red/green/blue)

Text Color <BODY TEXT="#$$$$$$">

Link Color <BODY LINK="#$$$$$$">

Visited Link <BODY VLINK="#$$$$$$">

Active Link <BODY ALINK="#$$$$$$">

SPECIAL CHARACTERS

Special Character &#?; (where ? is the ISO 8859-1 code)

< <

> >

& &

" "

Registered TM ®

Registered TM ®

Copyright ©

Copyright ©

Non-Breaking Space  

FORMS

Define Form <FORM ACTION="URL" METHOD=GET|POST></FORM>

File Upload <FORM ENCTYPE="multipart/form-data"></FORM>

Input Field <INPUT TYPE="TEXT|PASSWORD|CHECKBOX|RADIO| FILE|BUTTON|IMAGE|HIDDEN|SUBMIT|RESET">

Field Name <INPUT NAME="***">

Field Value <INPUT VALUE="***">

Checked? <INPUT CHECKED> (checkboxes and radio boxes)

Field Size <INPUT SIZE=?> (in characters)

Max Length <INPUT MAXLENGTH=?> (in characters)

Button <BUTTON></BUTTON>

Button Name <BUTTON NAME="***"></BUTTON>

Button Type <BUTTON TYPE="SUBMIT|RESET|BUTTON"></BUTTON>

Default Value <BUTTON VALUE="***"></BUTTON>

Label <LABEL></LABEL>

Item Labelled <LABEL FOR="***"></LABEL>

Selection List <SELECT></SELECT>

Name of List <SELECT NAME="***"></SELECT>

# of Options <SELECT SIZE=?></SELECT>

Multiple Choice <SELECT MULTIPLE> (can select more than one)

Option <OPTION> (items that can be selected)

Default Option <OPTION SELECTED>

Option Value <OPTION VALUE="***">

Option Group <OPTGROUP LABEL="***"></OPTGROUP>

Input Box Size <TEXTAREA ROWS=? COLS=?></TEXTAREA>

Name of Box <TEXTAREA NAME="***"></TEXTAREA>

Wrap Text <TEXTAREA WRAP=OFF|HARD|SOFT></TEXTAREA>

Group elements <FIELDSET></FIELDSET>

Legend <LEGEND></LEGEND> (caption for fieldsets)

Alignment <LEGEND ALIGN="TOP|BOTTOM|LEFT|RIGHT"></LEGEND>

TABLES

Define Table <TABLE></TABLE>

Table Alignment <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER>

Table Border <TABLE BORDER></TABLE> (either on or off)

Table Border <TABLE BORDER=?></TABLE> (you can set the value)

Cell Spacing <TABLE CELLSPACING=?>

Cell Padding <TABLE CELLPADDING=?>

Desired Width <TABLE WIDTH=?> (in pixels)

Width Percent <TABLE WIDTH=%> (percentage of page)

Table Color <TABLE BGCOLOR="$$$$$$"></TABLE>

Table Frame <TABLE FRAME=VOID|ABOVE|BELOW|HSIDES|LHS|RHS|VSIDES|BOX|BORDER></TABLE>

Table Rules <TABLE RULES=NONE|GROUPS|ROWS|COLS|ALL></TABLE>

Border Color <TABLE BORDERCOLOR="$$$$$$"></TABLE>

Dark Border <TABLE BORDERCOLORDARK="$$$$$$"></TABLE>

Light Border <TABLE BORDERCOLORLIGHT="$$$$$$"></TABLE>

Table Row <TR></TR>

Alignment <TR ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER|MIDDLE|BOTTOM>

Table Cell <TD></TD> (must appear within table rows)

Alignment <TD ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER VALIGN=TOP|MIDDLE|BOTTOM>

No linebreaks <TD NOWRAP>

Columns to Span <TD COLSPAN=?>

Rows to Span <TD ROWSPAN=?>

Desired Width <TD WIDTH=?> (in pixels)

Width Percent <TD WIDTH="%"> (percentage of table)

Cell Color <TD BGCOLOR="#$$$$$$">

Header Cell <TH></TH> (same as data, except bold centered)

Alignment <TH ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER|MIDDLE|BOTTOM>

No Linebreaks <TH NOWRAP>

Columns to Span <TH COLSPAN=?>

Rows to Span <TH ROWSPAN=?>

Desired Width <TH WIDTH=?> (in pixels)

Width Percent <TH WIDTH="%"> (percentage of table)

Cell Color <TH BGCOLOR="#$$$$$$">

Table Body <TBODY>

Table Footer <TFOOT></TFOOT> (must come before THEAD>

Table Header <THEAD></THEAD>

Table Caption <CAPTION></CAPTION>

Alignment <CAPTION ALIGN=TOP|BOTTOM|LEFT|RIGHT>

Column <COL></COL> (groups column attributes)

Columns Spanned <COL SPAN=?></COL>

Column Width <COL WIDTH=?></COL>

Width Percent <COL WIDTH="%"></COL>

Group columns <COLGROUP></COLGROUP> (groups column structure)

Columns Spanned <COLGROUP SPAN=?></COLGROUP>

Group Width <COLGROUP WIDTH=?></COLGROUP>

Width Percent <COLGROUP WIDTH="%"></COLGROUP>

FRAMES

Frame Document <FRAMESET></FRAMESET> (instead of <BODY>)

Row Heights <FRAMESET ROWS=,,,></FRAMESET> (pixels or %)

Row Heights <FRAMESET ROWS=*></FRAMESET>

Column Widths <FRAMESET COLS=,,,></FRAMESET> (pixels or %)

Column Widths <FRAMESET COLS=*></FRAMESET>

Borders <FRAMESET FRAMEBORDER="yes|no"></FRAMESET>

Border Width <FRAMESET BORDER=?></FRAMESET>

Border Color <FRAMESET BORDERCOLOR="#$$$$$$"></FRAMESET>

Frame Spacing <FRAMESET FRAMESPACING=?></FRAMESET>

Define Frame <FRAME> (contents of an individual frame)

Display Document <FRAME SRC="URL">

Frame Name <FRAME NAME="***"|_blank|_self|_parent|_top>

Margin Width <FRAME MARGINWIDTH=?> (left and right margins)

Margin Height <FRAME MARGINHEIGHT=?> (top and bottom margins)

Scrollbar? <FRAME SCROLLING="YES|NO|AUTO">

Not Resizable <FRAME NORESIZE>

Borders <FRAME FRAMEBORDER="yes|no">

Border Color <FRAME BORDERCOLOR="#$$$$$$">

Unframed Content <NOFRAMES></NOFRAMES> (for non-frames browsers)

Inline Frame <IFRAME></IFRAME> (takes same attributes as FRAME)

Dimensions <IFRAME WIDTH=? HEIGHT=?></IFRAME>

Dimensions <IFRAME WIDTH="%" HEIGHT="%"> </IFRAME>

SCRIPTS AND JAVA

Script <SCRIPT></SCRIPT>

Location <SCRIPT SRC="URL"></SCRIPT>

Type <SCRIPT TYPE="***"></SCRIPT>

Language <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="***"></SCRIPT>

Other Content <NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT> (if scripts not supported)

Applet <APPLET></APPLET>

File Name <APPLET CODE="***">

Parameters <APPLET PARAM NAME="***">

Location <APPLET CODEBASE="URL">

Identifier <APPLET NAME="***"> (for references)

Alt Text <APPLET ALT="***"> (for non-Java browsers)

Alignment <APPLET ALIGN="LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER">

Size <APPLET WIDTH=? HEIGHT=?> (in pixels)

Spacing <APPLET HSPACE=? VSPACE=?> (in pixels)

Server Script <SERVER></SERVER>

MISCELLANEOUS

Comment  (not displayed by the browser)

Prologue <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN">

Searchable <ISINDEX> (indicates a searchable index)

Prompt <ISINDEX PROMPT="***"> (text to prompt input)

Send Search <A HREF="URL?***"></a> (use a real question mark)

URL of This File <BASE HREF="URL"> (must be in header)

Base Window Name <BASE TARGET="***"> (must be in header)

Relationship <LINK REV="***" REL="***" HREF="URL"> (in header)

Linked File <LINK TYPE="***" SRC="***"></LINK>

Meta Information <META> (must be in header)

Style Sheets <STYLE></STYLE> (implementations vary)

Bidirect Off <BDO DIR=LTR|RTL></BDO> (for certain character sets)