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- What is it?
- The A tag is one of the key distinctive features of HTML which
defines a link that allows webs of information to be created. The
Bookmark element defines a portion of text and/or an object that serves
as a destination for a URL activation (whether it be by a Hyperlink or
some other method.) The A tag can serve as a destination of a URL, an
invocation of a URL, or both at the same time.
- Attributes
- Href
- 2
| 3 | 3.2
| IE1 | M1
| N1
- Required? No
- Description:
This attribute indicates the URL to be loaded when the hyperlinked
object is activated. Values can be either relative or absolute URLs.
Either this attribute or the NAME attribute MUST be present
in the A tag.
- Values: An absolute or relative URL.
- Name
- 2
| 3 | 3.2
| IE1 | M1
| N1
- Required? No
- Description:
This attribute assigns a symbolic name to the enclosed object (text,
image, etc.) in order to use it as a destination in a hyperlink or
other URL call. Either this attribute or the HREF attribute
MUST be present in the A tag.
- Values: Alphanumeric characters.
- Other Attributes
- Methods
- 2
| 3 | 3.2
| IE | M
| N
- Required? No
- Description:
This attribute should specify methods to be used in accessing the
destination, as a whitespace-separated list of names. For similar
reasons as for the TITLE attribute, it may be useful to include the
information in advance in the link. For example, the browser may
choose a different rendering display (possibly a special icon) for
a destination that is searchable. None of the popular browsers ever
implemented this attribute and it has since disappeared from the
current HTML 3.2 Draft.
- Values:
The set of applicable names is a function of the protocol scheme of
the URL in the HREF attribute.
- Rel
- 2
| 3 | 3.2
| IE | M
| N
- Required? No
- Description:
The REL attribute is not currently used by any of the popular browsers,
but is meant to give the relationship(s) described by the hyperlink.
- Values:
A whitespace separated list of relationship names.
- Rev
- 2
| 3 | 3.2
| IE | M
| N
- Required? No
- Description:
The REL attribute is not currently used by any of the popular
browsers. It is basically meant to be the same as the REL attribute,
but the semantics of the relationship are in the reverse direction.
A link from A to B with REL="X" expresses the same
relationship as a link from B to A with REV="X". An anchor
may have both REL and REV attributes.
- Values:
A whitespace separated list of relationship names.
- Title
- 2
| 3 | 3.2
| IE | M
| N
- Required? No
- Description:
This attribute suggests a title (advisory only) for the destination
resource. The TITLE attribute may be used for display prior to
accessing the destination resource (such as in a margin note or in a
pop-up box while the mouse is over the hyperlink), or for resources that
do not include titles (like graphics, plain text documents or Gopher menus.)
- Values: An alphanumeric string
- URN
- 2
| 3 | 3.2
| IE | M
| N
- Required? No
- Description:
This attribute was originally meant to specify a more persistent
identifier for the NAME value of the hyperlink, but none of the popular
browsers ever implemented this attribute. It has since disappeared from
the current HTML 3.2 Draft.
- Values: NA
Style Sheet Attributes
[More on Cascading Style Sheets]
- Class
- 2 | 3
| 3.2 | IE3B1
| M | N4B2
- Required? No
- Description:
This represents an assigned semantic classification grouping(s) for the
current tag.
- Values:
Given as a comma separated list of alphanumeric characters. Class names
may contain spaces (multiple consecutive spaces treated as a single
space.)
- ID
- 2 | 3
| 3.2 | IE3B1
| M | N4B2
- Required? No
- Description:
This assigns an alpha-numeric identifier that is unique
to this tag instance. Style sheets may use this attribute to reference
the current instance of this tag. Hyperlinks may also use this identifier
to serve as a destination.
- Values:
An alphanumeric string - initial character must be a letter followed
by alphabetic characters, digits, "-" or "."
characters. The allowable set of alpha-characters is restricted to the
A-Z and a-z set.
- Style
- 2 | 3
| 3.2 | IE3B1
| M | N4B3
- Required? No
- Description:
This attribute is a text string that provides rendering style
information for the current tag.
- Values:
Please see the description of
inline styles for more
information on how to use this attribute and its
possible values.
- Example
- <a NAME="Bookmark1">
This text is now marked by Bookmark1!
</a>
- Parent Model
-
%Virtual
Formatting% |
%Physical
Formatting% |
%Block Format
Parent% |
%Multimedia
Parent% |
<Body> |
<Address> |
<Basefont> |
<Heading> |
<Marquee>
- Content Model
- %Text% |
%Virtual Formatting% |
%Physical Formatting% |
%Line Break Content% |
%Multimedia Content%
Tips & Tricks
- Although these pages lists A HREF and A NAME separately in order to
emphasize the distinction in functionality between the two elements,
the HREF and NAME attributes can co-exist in the same tag to serve as
both a jump point and a destination for a jump point.
- Remember: If an instance of the A tag only serves to define a
Bookmark, using a TARGET attribute will have no effect (That is why
the attribute is not listed here.)
Browser Peculiarities
Boring Copyright Stuff...