Bare Bones Guide to HTML
Version 4.0 Formatted -- February 1999
The latest version of this document is available at
http://werbach.com/barebones/, where you will also find the text version,
translations, and background materials.
The Bare Bones Guide to HTML lists all the tags that current browsers are likely
to recognize. I have included all the elements in the official HTML 4.0
recommendation with common attributes, as well as Netscape and Microsoft
extensions. This document is a quick reference, not a complete specification;
for official information about HTML and its development, see the World Wide Web
Consortium site at http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/.
The Guide is designed to be as concise as possible, and therefore it doesn't go
into any detail about how to use the various tags. A few tags link to notes that
address frequently-asked questions. If you're looking for more detailed
step-by-step information, see my WWW Help Page.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL
What is unique about this guide
Which HTML tags are included
How this document is formatted (including a description of symbols and
abbreviations)
HTML TAGS
basic elements (all HTML documents should have these)
structural definition (appearance controlled by the browser's preferences)
presentation formatting (author specifies text appearance)
links, graphics, and sounds
positioning
dividers
lists
backgrounds and colors
special characters
forms
tables
frames
scripts and java
miscellaneous
Important: If you are not clear about the differences between the various
versions of HTML, I suggest that you read my discussion of the development of
HTML, or the World Wide Web Consortium HTML activity statement.
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}
4.0Defined Content {SPAN}{/SPAN}
Block Quote {BLOCKQUOTE}{/BLOCKQUOTE} (usually indented)
4.0Quote {Q}{/Q} (for short quotations)
4.0Citation {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}
4.0Insert {INS}{/INS} (marks additions in a new version)
4.0Time of Change {INS DATETIME=":::"}{/INS}
4.0Comments {INS CITE="URL"}{/INS}
4.0Delete {DEL}{/DEL} (marks deletions in a new version)
4.0Time of Change {DEL DATETIME=":::"}{/DEL}
4.0Comments {DEL CITE="URL"}{/DEL}
4.0Acronym {ACRONYM}{/ACRONYM}
4.0Abbreviation {ABBR}{/ABBR}
PRESENTATION FORMATTING
Bold {B}{/B}
Italic {I}{/I}
4.0*Underline {U}{/U} (not widely implemented)
Strikeout {STRIKE}{/STRIKE} (not widely implemented)
4.0*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)
Center {CENTER}{/CENTER} (for both text and images)
N1Blinking {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="#$$$$$$"}{/FONT}
4.0*Select Font {FONT FACE="***"}{/FONT}
N4Point size {FONT POINT-SIZE=?}{/FONT}
N4Weight {FONT WEIGHT=?}{/FONT}
4.0*Base Font Size {BASEFONT SIZE=?} (from 1-7; default is 3)
MSMarquee {MARQUEE}{/MARQUEE}
POSITIONING
N3Multi-Column {MULTICOL COLS=?}{/MULTICOL}
N3Column Gutter {MULTICOL GUTTER=?}{/MULTICOL}
N3Column Width {MULTICOL WIDTH=?}{/MULTICOL}
N3Spacer {SPACER}
N3Spacer Type {SPACER TYPE=HORIZONTAL|VERTICAL|BLOCK}
N3Size {SPACER SIZE=?}
N3Dimensions {SPACER WIDTH=? HEIGHT=?}
N3Alignment {SPACER ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER}
N4Layer {LAYER}{/LAYER}
N4Name {LAYER ID="***"}{/LAYER}
N4Location {LAYER LEFT=? TOP=?}{/LAYER}
N4Rel. Position {LAYER PAGEX=? PAGEY=?}{/LAYER}
N4Source File {LAYER SRC="***"}{/LAYER}
N4Stacking {LAYER Z-INDEX=?}{/LAYER}
N4Stack Position {LAYER ABOVE="***" BELOW="***"}{/LAYER}
N4Dimensions {LAYER HEIGHT=? WIDTH=?}{/LAYER}
N4Clipping Path {LAYER CLIP=,,,}{/LAYER}
N4Visible? {LAYER VISIBILITY=SHOW|HIDDEN|INHERIT}{/LAYER}
N4Background {LAYER BACKGROUND="$$$$$$"}{/LAYER}
N4Color {LAYER BGCOLOR="$$$$$$"}{/LAYER}
N4Inline Layer {ILAYER}{/ILAYER} (takes same attributes as LAYER)
N4Alt. Content {NOLAYER}{/NOLAYER}
LINKS, GRAPHICS, AND SOUNDS
Link Something {A HREF="URL"}{/A}
Link to Location {A HREF="URL#***"}{/A} (if in another document)
{A HREF="#***"}{/A} (if in current document)
4.0*Target Window {A HREF="URL" TARGET="***"}{/A}
4.0*Action on Click {A HREF="URL" ONCLICK="***"}{/A} (Javascript)
4.0*Mouseover Action {A HREF="URL" ONMOUSEOVER="***"}{/A} (Javascript)
4.0*Mouse out Action {A HREF="URL" ONMOUSEOUT="***"}{/A} (Javascript)
Link to Email {A HREF="mailto:@"}{/A}
N, MSSpecify 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}
N1Alignment {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)
{IMG SRC="URL" WIDTH=% HEIGHT=%} (as percentage of page width/height)
Border {IMG SRC="URL" BORDER=?} (in pixels)
Runaround Space {IMG SRC="URL" HSPACE=? VSPACE=?} (in pixels)
N1Low-Res Proxy {IMG SRC="URL" LOWSRC="URL"}
Imagemap {IMG SRC="URL" ISMAP} (requires a script)
Imagemap {IMG SRC="URL" USEMAP="URL"}
MSMovie Clip {IMG DYNSRC="***" START="***" LOOP=?}
MSBackground 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}
N1Client Pull {META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" CONTENT="?; URL=URL"}
N2Embed Object {EMBED SRC="URL"} (insert object into page)
N2Object Size {EMBED SRC="URL" WIDTH=? HEIGHT=?}
4.0Object {OBJECT}{/OBJECT}
4.0Parameters {PARAM}
DIVIDERS
Paragraph {P}{/P} (closing tag often unnecessary)
Align Text {P ALIGN=LEFT|CENTER|RIGHT}{/P}
NJustify 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)
N1No Break {NOBR}{/NOBR} (prevents line breaks)
N1Word 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"}
MSWatermark {BODY BGPROPERTIES="FIXED"}
Bkground Color {BODY BGCOLOR="#$$$$$$"} (order is red/green/blue)
Text Color {BODY TEXT="#$$$$$$"}
Link Color {BODY LINK="#$$$$$$"}
Visited Link {BODY VLINK="#$$$$$$"}
Active Link {BODY ALINK="#$$$$$$"}
(More info at http://werbach.com/web/wwwhelp.html#color)
SPECIAL CHARACTERS
Special Character &#?; (where ? is the ISO 8859-1 code)
{ <
} >
& &
" "
Registered TM ®
Registered TM ®
Copyright ©
Copyright ©
Non-Breaking Space
(Complete list at http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/charset)
FORMS
Define Form {FORM ACTION="URL" METHOD=GET|POST}{/FORM}
4.0*File Upload {FORM ENCTYPE="multipart/form-data"}{/FORM}
Input Field {INPUT TYPE="TEXT|PASSWORD|CHECKBOX|RADIO|
FILE|BUTTON|IMAGE|HIDDEN|SUBMIT|RESET"}
Field Name {INPUT NAME="***"}
Field Value {INPUT VALUE="***"}
Checked? {INPUT CHECKED} (checkboxes and radio boxes)
Field Size {INPUT SIZE=?} (in characters)
Max Length {INPUT MAXLENGTH=?} (in characters)
4.0Button {BUTTON}{/BUTTON}
4.0Button Name {BUTTON NAME="***"}{/BUTTON}
4.0Button Type {BUTTON TYPE="SUBMIT|RESET|BUTTON"}{/BUTTON}
4.0Default Value {BUTTON VALUE="***"}{/BUTTON}
4.0Label {LABEL}{/LABEL}
4.0Item Labelled {LABEL FOR="***"}{/LABEL}
Selection List {SELECT}{/SELECT}
Name of List {SELECT NAME="***"}{/SELECT}
# of Options {SELECT SIZE=?}{/SELECT}
Multiple Choice {SELECT MULTIPLE} (can select more than one)
Option {OPTION} (items that can be selected)
Default Option {OPTION SELECTED}
Option Value {OPTION VALUE="***"}
4.0Option Group {OPTGROUP LABEL="***"}{/OPTGROUP}
Input Box Size {TEXTAREA ROWS=? COLS=?}{/TEXTAREA}
Name of Box {TEXTAREA NAME="***"}{/TEXTAREA}
N2Wrap Text {TEXTAREA WRAP=OFF|HARD|SOFT}{/TEXTAREA}
4.0Group elements {FIELDSET}{/FIELDSET}
4.0Legend {LEGEND}{/LEGEND} (caption for fieldsets)
4.0Alignment {LEGEND ALIGN="TOP|BOTTOM|LEFT|RIGHT"}{/LEGEND}
TABLES
Define Table {TABLE}{/TABLE}
4.0*Table Alignment {TABLE ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER}
Table Border {TABLE BORDER}{/TABLE} (either on or off)
Table Border {TABLE BORDER=?}{/TABLE} (you can set the value)
Cell Spacing {TABLE CELLSPACING=?}
Cell Padding {TABLE CELLPADDING=?}
Desired Width {TABLE WIDTH=?} (in pixels)
Width Percent {TABLE WIDTH=%} (percentage of page)
4.0*Table Color {TABLE BGCOLOR="$$$$$$"}{/TABLE}
4.0Table Frame {TABLE FRAME=VOID|ABOVE|BELOW|HSIDES|LHS|RHS|
VSIDES|BOX|BORDER}{/TABLE}
4.0Table Rules {TABLE RULES=NONE|GROUPS|ROWS|COLS|ALL}{/TABLE}
MSBorder Color {TABLE BORDERCOLOR="$$$$$$"}{/TABLE}
MSDark Border {TABLE BORDERCOLORDARK="$$$$$$"}{/TABLE}
MSLight Border {TABLE BORDERCOLORLIGHT="$$$$$$"}{/TABLE}
Table Row {TR}{/TR}
Alignment {TR ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER|MIDDLE|BOTTOM}
Table Cell {TD}{/TD} (must appear within table rows)
Alignment {TD ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER VALIGN=TOP|MIDDLE|BOTTOM}
No linebreaks {TD NOWRAP}
Columns to Span {TD COLSPAN=?}
Rows to Span {TD ROWSPAN=?}
4.0*Desired Width {TD WIDTH=?} (in pixels)
N3Width Percent {TD WIDTH="%"} (percentage of table)
4.0*Cell Color {TD BGCOLOR="#$$$$$$"}
Header Cell {TH}{/TH} (same as data, except bold centered)
Alignment {TH ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER|MIDDLE|BOTTOM}
No Linebreaks {TH NOWRAP}
Columns to Span {TH COLSPAN=?}
Rows to Span {TH ROWSPAN=?}
4.0*Desired Width {TH WIDTH=?} (in pixels)
N3Width Percent {TH WIDTH="%"} (percentage of table)
4.0*Cell Color {TH BGCOLOR="#$$$$$$"}
4.0Table Body {TBODY}
4.0Table Footer {TFOOT}{/TFOOT} (must come before THEAD}
4.0Table Header {THEAD}{/THEAD}
Table Caption {CAPTION}{/CAPTION}
Alignment {CAPTION ALIGN=TOP|BOTTOM|LEFT|RIGHT}
4.0Column {COL}{/COL} (groups column attributes)
4.0Columns Spanned {COL SPAN=?}{/COL}
4.0Column Width {COL WIDTH=?}{/COL}
4.0Width Percent {COL WIDTH="%"}{/COL}
4.0Group columns {COLGROUP}{/COLGROUP} (groups column structure)
4.0Columns Spanned {COLGROUP SPAN=?}{/COLGROUP}
4.0Group Width {COLGROUP WIDTH=?}{/COLGROUP}
4.0Width Percent {COLGROUP WIDTH="%"}{/COLGROUP}
FRAMES
4.0*Frame Document {FRAMESET}{/FRAMESET} (instead of {BODY})
4.0*Row Heights {FRAMESET ROWS=,,,}{/FRAMESET} (pixels or %)
4.0*Row Heights {FRAMESET ROWS=*}{/FRAMESET} (* = relative size)
4.0*Column Widths {FRAMESET COLS=,,,}{/FRAMESET} (pixels or %)
4.0*Column Widths {FRAMESET COLS=*}{/FRAMESET} (* = relative size)
4.0*Borders {FRAMESET FRAMEBORDER="yes|no"}{/FRAMESET}
4.0*Border Width {FRAMESET BORDER=?}{/FRAMESET}
4.0*Border Color {FRAMESET BORDERCOLOR="#$$$$$$"}{/FRAMESET}
N3Frame Spacing {FRAMESET FRAMESPACING=?}{/FRAMESET}
4.0*Define Frame {FRAME} (contents of an individual frame)
4.0*Display Document {FRAME SRC="URL"}
4.0*Frame Name {FRAME NAME="***"|_blank|_self|_parent|_top}
4.0*Margin Width {FRAME MARGINWIDTH=?} (left and right margins)
4.0*Margin Height {FRAME MARGINHEIGHT=?} (top and bottom margins)
4.0*Scrollbar? {FRAME SCROLLING="YES|NO|AUTO"}
4.0*Not Resizable {FRAME NORESIZE}
4.0*Borders {FRAME FRAMEBORDER="yes|no"}
4.0*Border Color {FRAME BORDERCOLOR="#$$$$$$"}
4.0*Unframed Content {NOFRAMES}{/NOFRAMES} (for non-frames browsers)
4.0Inline Frame {IFRAME}{/IFRAME} (takes same attributes as FRAME)
4.0Dimensions {IFRAME WIDTH=? HEIGHT=?}{/IFRAME}
4.0Dimensions {IFRAME WIDTH="%" HEIGHT="%"}{/IFRAME}
SCRIPTS AND JAVA
Script {SCRIPT}{/SCRIPT}
Location {SCRIPT SRC="URL"}{/SCRIPT}
Type {SCRIPT TYPE="***"}{/SCRIPT}
Language {SCRIPT LANGUAGE="***"}{/SCRIPT}
4.0*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)
N4Server 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)
4.0*Base Window Name {BASE TARGET="***"} (must be in header)
Relationship {LINK REV="***" REL="***" HREF="URL"} (in header)
N4Linked File {LINK TYPE="***" SRC="***"}{/LINK}
Meta Information {META} (must be in header)
Style Sheets {STYLE}{/STYLE} (implementations vary)
4.0Bidirect Off {BDO DIR=LTR|RTL}{/BDO} (for certain character sets)
Copyright ©1995-2001 Kevin Werbach. Redistribution is permitted, so long
as there is no charge and this document is included without alteration in
its entirety. This Guide is not a product of Bare Bones Software. More
information is available at http://werbach.com/barebones.