++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 3.0 -- July 21, 1996 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This document is permanently located at . The Bare Bones Guide to HTML lists all the tags that current versions of most browsers are likely to recognize. I have included all the tags in the HTML 3.2 specification, as well as Netscape extensions included in versions of Netscape Navigator up to 3.0b5. 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. There are numerous step-by-step HTML guides on the Web; I have links to many of them at . Comments and suggestions are always welcome; you can reach me via Email at . FORMATTING OF THIS DOCUMENT --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document looks best displayed in a monospaced font. For clarity, I have separated out different attributes that can be applied to the same tag onto separate lines. Generally, multiple attributes can be combined in 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.) ,,, 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 N1.0 Netscape extension introduced with Navigator version 1.0 N1.1 Netscape extension introduced with Navigator version 1.1 N2.0 Netscape extension introduced with Navigator version 2.0 N3.0B Netscape extension introduced with Navigator version 3.0 beta =========================================================================== =========================================================================== 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
Block Quote
(usually indented) 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 PRESENTATION FORMATTING (author specifies text appearance) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bold Italic N3.0b Underline (not widely implemented yet) Strikeout (not widely implemented yet) N3.0b Strikeout (not widely implemented yet) Subscript Superscript Typewriter (displays in a monospaced font) Preformatted
        (display text spacing as-is)
         Width          
   (in characters)
       Center           
(for both text and images) N1.0 Blinking (the most derided tag ever) Font Size (ranges from 1-7) Change Font Size N1.0 Base Font Size (from 1-7; default is 3) Font Color N3.0b Select Font N3.0b Multi-Column N3.0b Column Gutter N3.0b Column Width N3.0b Spacer N3.0b Spacer Type N3.0b Size N3.0b Dimensions N3.0b Alignment LINKS AND GRAPHICS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link Something Link to Target (if in another document) (if in current document) N2.0 Target Window Define Target Display Image Alignment N1.0 Alignment Alternate *** (if image not displayed) Dimensions (in pixels) Border (in pixels) Runaround Space (in pixels) N1.0 Low-Res Proxy Imagemap (requires a script) Imagemap Map (describes the map) Section N1.1 Client Pull N2.0 Embed Object (insert object into page) N2.0 Object Size DIVIDERS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paragraph

(closing tag often unnecessary) Align 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) N1.0 No Break (prevents line breaks) N1.0 Word Break (where to break a line if needed) LISTS (lists can be nested) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unordered List
(
  • before each list item) Compact
      Bullet Type
        (for the whole list)
      • (this & subsequent) Ordered List
        (
      • before each list item) Compact
          Numbering Type
            (for the whole list)
          1. (this & subsequent) Starting Number
              (for the whole list)
            1. (this & subsequent) Definition List
              (
              =term,
              =definition) Compact
              Menu List
            2. (
            3. before each list item) Compact Directory List
            4. (
            5. before each list item) Compact BACKGROUNDS AND COLORS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tiled Bkground 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
              N2.0 File Upload
              Field Name Field Value Checked? (checkboxes and radio boxes) Field Size (in characters) Max Length (in characters) Selection List Name of List # of Options Multiple Choice Name of Box N2.0 Wrap Text TABLES --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Define Table
              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) Table Row Alignment Table Cell (must appear within table rows) Alignment (same as data, except bold centered) Alignment Alignment
              No linebreaks Columns to Span Rows to Span N1.1 Desired Width (in pixels) N1.1 Width Percent (percentage of table) N3.0b Cell Color Table Header No Linebreaks Columns to Span Rows to Span N1.1 Desired Width (in pixels) N1.1 Width Percent (percentage of table) N3.0b Cell Color Table Caption
              (above/below table) FRAMES (define and manipulate specific regions of the screen) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- N2.0 Frame Document (instead of ) N2.0 Row Heights (pixels or %) N2.0 Row Heights (* = relative size) N2.0 Column Widths (pixels or %) N2.0 Column Widths (* = relative size) N3.0b Borders N3.0b Border Width N3.0b Border Color N2.0 Define Frame (contents of an individual frame) N2.0 Display Document N2.0 Frame Name N2.0 Margin Width (left and right margins) N2.0 Margin Height (top and bottom margins) N2.0 Scrollbar? N2.0 Not Resizable N3.0b Borders N3.0b Border Color N2.0 Unframed Content (for non-frames browsers) JAVA --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Applet File Name Parameters Location Identifier (for references) Alt Text (for non-Java browsers) Alignment Size (in pixels) Spacing (in pixels) 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) N2.0 Base Window Name (must be in header) Relationship (in header) Meta Information (must be in header) Style Sheets (not widely supported yet) Scripts (not widely supported yet) =========================================================================== Copyright (c) 1995, 1996 Kevin Werbach. Noncommercial redistribution is permitted. This Guide is not a product of Bare Bones Software. Contact the author for more information.