+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ T H E B A R E B O N E S G U I D E T O H T M L by Kevin Werbach Version 4.0 -- January 1999 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This document is available at , where you will also find the HTML formatted 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 . 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. For links to some good step-by-step HTML guides, see . FORMATTING OF THIS DOCUMENT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document looks best displayed in a monospaced font. For clarity, I have separated out tag attributes onto separate lines. Generally, multiple attributes can be applied to the same tag. Tags are listed in upper case for ease of reading, although most tags are not case sensitive. SYMBOLS USED ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- URL URL of an external file (or just file name if in the same directory) ? Arbitrary number (i.e. means

,

, etc.) % Arbitrary percentage (i.e.

means

, etc.) *** Arbitrary text (i.e. ALT="***" means fill in with text) $$$$$$ Arbitrary hex (i.e. BGCOLOR="#$$$$$$" means BGCOLOR="#00FF1C", etc.) ::: Arbitrary date (i.e. DATETIME=":::" means "1994-11-05T08:15:30" etc.) @ Email address (i.e. "mailto:@" means "mailto:kevin@werbach.com" etc.) ,,, Comma-delimited (i.e. COORDS=",,," means COORDS="0,0,50,50", etc.) | Alternatives (i.e. ALIGN=LEFT|RIGHT|CENTER means pick one of these) COMPATIBILITY (remember, HTML is evolving and browser implementations vary) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (no notation) In the HTML 3.2 spec.; should work on all browsers 4.0 Introduced in HTML 4.0 recommendation N1 Netscape extension introduced with Navigator version 1.0 or 1.1 N2 Netscape extension introduced with Navigator version 2.0 N3 Netscape extension introduced with Navigator version 3.0 N4 Netscape extension introduced with Navigator/Communicator version 4.0 MS Microsoft Internet Explorer extension * Netscape extension now included in the HTML 4.0 specification =========================================================================== =========================================================================== GENERAL (all HTML documents should have these) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Document Type (beginning and end of file) Title (must be in header) Header (descriptive info, such as title) Body (bulk of the page) STRUCTURAL DEFINITION (appearance controlled by the browser's preferences) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heading (the spec. defines 6 levels) Align Heading Division

Align Division

4.0 Defined Content Block Quote

(usually indented) 4.0 Quote (for short quotations) 4.0 Citation Emphasis (usually displayed as italic) Strong Emphasis (usually displayed as bold) Citation (usually italics) Code (for source code listings) Sample Output Keyboard Input Variable Definition (not widely implemented) Author's Address

Large Font Size Small Font Size 4.0 Insert (marks additions in a new version) 4.0 Time of Change 4.0 Comments 4.0 Delete (marks deletions in a new version) 4.0 Time of Change 4.0 Comments 4.0 Acronym 4.0 Abbreviation PRESENTATION FORMATTING (author specifies text appearance) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bold Italic 4.0* Underline (not widely implemented) Strikeout (not widely implemented) 4.0* Strikeout (not widely implemented) Subscript Superscript Typewriter (displays in a monospaced font) Preformatted

(display text spacing as-is) Width

(in characters) Center (for both text and images) N1 Blinking (the most derided tag ever) Font Size (ranges from 1-7) Change Font Size Font Color 4.0* Select Font N4 Point size N4 Weight 4.0* Base Font Size (from 1-7; default is 3) MS Marquee POSITIONING ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- N3 Multi-Column N3 Column Gutter N3 Column Width N3 Spacer N3 Spacer Type N3 Size N3 Dimensions N3 Alignment N4 Layer N4 Name N4 Location N4 Rel. Position N4 Source File N4 Stacking N4 Stack Position N4 Dimensions N4 Clipping Path N4 Visible? N4 Background N4 Color N4 Inline Layer (takes same attributes as LAYER) N4 Alt. Content LINKS, GRAPHICS, AND SOUNDS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link Something Link to Location (if in another document) (if in current document) 4.0* Target Window 4.0* Action on Click (Javascript) 4.0* Mouseover Action (Javascript) 4.0* Mouse out Action (Javascript) Link to Email Specify subject (use a real ?) Define Location Display Image

Alignment

N1 Alignment

Alternate

(if image not displayed) Dimensions

(in pixels)

(as percentage) Border

(in pixels) Runaround Space

(in pixels) N1 Low-Res Proxy

Imagemap

(requires a script) Imagemap

MS Movie Clip MS Background Sound Client-Side Map (describes the map) Map Section N1 Client Pull N2 Embed Object

(insert object into page) N2 Object Size

4.0 Object

4.0 Parameters DIVIDERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paragraph

(closing tag often unnecessary) Align Text

N Justify Text

Line Break
(a single carriage return) Clear Textwrap
Horizontal Rule

Alignment

Thickness

(in pixels) Width

(in pixels) Width Percent

(as a percentage of page width) Solid Line

(without the 3D cutout look) N1 No Break (prevents line breaks) N1 Word Break (where to break a line if needed) LISTS (lists can be nested) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unordered List

(

before each list item) Compact

Bullet Type

(this & subsequent) Ordered List
(
before each list item) Compact
Numbering Type
1. (this & subsequent) Starting Number
  1. (this & subsequent) Definition List
    (
    =term,
    =definition) Compact
    Menu List
    (
    before each list item) Compact Directory List
    (
    before each list item) Compact BACKGROUNDS AND COLORS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tiled Bkground MS Watermark Bkground Color (order is red/green/blue) Text Color Link Color Visited Link Active Link (More info at ) SPECIAL CHARACTERS (these must all be in lower case) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Character &#?; (where ? is the ISO 8859-1 code) < < > > & & " " Registered TM ® Registered TM ® Copyright © Copyright © Non-Breaking Spc (Complete list at ) FORMS (generally require a script on your server) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Define Form
    4.0* File Upload
    Input Field Field Name Field Value Checked? (checkboxes and radio boxes) Field Size (in characters) Max Length (in characters) 4.0 Button 4.0 Button Name 4.0 Button Type 4.0 Default Value 4.0 Label 4.0 Item Labelled Selection List Name of List # of Options Multiple Choice Name of Box N2 Wrap Text 4.0 Group elements
    4.0 Legend (caption for fieldsets) 4.0 Alignment TABLES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Define Table
    4.0* Table Alignment Table Border
    (either on or off) Table Border
    (you can set the value) Cell Spacing Cell Padding
    Desired Width
    (in pixels) Width Percent
    (percentage of page) 4.0* Table Color
    4.0 Table Frame
    4.0 Table Rules
    MS Border Color
    MS Dark Border
    MS Light Border
    Table Row Alignment Table Cell (must appear within table rows) Alignment No linebreaks Columns to Span Rows to Span 4.0* Desired Width (in pixels) N3 Width Percent (percentage of table) 4.0* Cell Color Header Cell (same as data, except bold centered) Alignment No Linebreaks Columns to Span Rows to Span 4.0* Desired Width (in pixels) N3 Width Percent (percentage of table) 4.0* Cell Color 4.0 Table Body 4.0 Table Footer (must come before THEAD> 4.0 Table Header Table Caption Alignment 4.0 Column (groups column attributes) 4.0 Columns Spanned 4.0 Column Width 4.0 Width Percent 4.0 Group columns (groups column structure) 4.0 Columns Spanned 4.0 Group Width 4.0 Width Percent FRAMES (define and manipulate specific regions of the screen) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.0* Frame Document (instead of ) 4.0* Row Heights (pixels or %) 4.0* Row Heights (* = relative size) 4.0* Column Widths (pixels or %) 4.0* Column Widths (* = relative size) 4.0* Borders 4.0* Border Width 4.0* Border Color N3 Frame Spacing 4.0* Define Frame (contents of an individual frame) 4.0* Display Document 4.0* Frame Name 4.0* Margin Width (left and right margins) 4.0* Margin Height (top and bottom margins) 4.0* Scrollbar? 4.0* Not Resizable 4.0* Borders 4.0* Border Color 4.0* Unframed Content (for non-frames browsers) 4.0 Inline Frame (takes same attributes as FRAME) 4.0 Dimensions 4.0 Dimensions SCRIPTS AND JAVA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Script Location Type Language 4.0* Other Content (if scripts not supported) Applet File Name Parameters Location Identifier (for references) Alt Text (for non-Java browsers) Alignment Size (in pixels) Spacing (in pixels) N4 Server Script MISCELLANEOUS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comment (not displayed by the browser) Prologue Searchable (indicates a searchable index) Prompt (text to prompt input) Send Search (use a real question mark) URL of This File (must be in header) 4.0* Base Window Name (must be in header) Relationship (in header) N4 Linked File Meta Information (must be in header) Style Sheets (implementations vary) 4.0 Bidirect Off (for certain character sets) ============================================================================ Copyright (c) 1995-1999 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 .