which define the documents title. ═══ <hidden> Parameters ═══ The <HEAD> tag has no parameters. ═══ <hidden> Syntax ═══ <HTML> <HEAD> <BASE ...> <TITLE> document Title

═══ 1. - Defines an animation for the Web Explorer. ═══ defines the start of a definition of ann animation that will be used by the Web Explorer to signify activity. I.e. it is the animation displayed in the box at the top right of the window. Animations are basically composed of a series of images stored in individual files. These can be GIF, JPG or BMP files. BMP are the most popular and easiest to work with. The images must be 40 x 40 pixels in size and can be of anything you like. Many people use popular animation and rendering packages to put them together. The individual frames are defined using the tag. There can be no text within the ... tags. ═══ Parameters ═══ This tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ .... ═══ 2. - Defines an animation frame. ═══ defines an individual frame in a Web explorer animation. This tag can only exist within the tag. Each frame must be 40 x40 pixels in size and can be a GIF, JPG or BMP file. You must put in one tag for each frame in the animation. ═══ Parameters ═══ SRC="GraphicFile" GraphicFile is the GIF, JPG or BMP file for the frame being specified. ═══ Syntax ═══ .... ═══ 3. - Table Definition. ═══ The

Tag defines the beginning of a table definition. Basically, this consists of a number of tags which define the start of each new row in the table, with - Table Row. ═══ This tag does not have a corresponding end tag. The Tag defines the start of a new row in a table. The browser will just keep adding any cells to the end of the table until this tag is found. Then it starts a new row. ═══ Parameters ═══ This tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══

tags defining each piece of data with the row. The total number of rows and columes is controlled by how many of these tags you put in. For example, if you put 3 table row tags, with 4 table data tags following each one, then the table displayed by the browser will be 3 rows by 4 columes. You can also tell specific cells to extend themselves over their neighbours. This allows you to do such thing as have one colume heading with two columes of data underneath it. You can also setup the appearance of the table such as how thickt he borders are and how close the cells are to the borders. A trick I find quite useful is to setup a table with 0 sized borders. This allows me to format data into columes. Something the WWW browsers do not do at the present time. ═══ Parameters ═══ ALIGN="LEFT | RIGHT | CENTER" This parameter defines the alignment of the table to the page it is one. I.e. to the left or right margins, or centered. BORDER="n" n defines the thickness of the border in pixels. 0 turns the border off, enabling you to use tables as a convieniant way to format the data. CELLSPACING="n" n is the distance between cells in pixels. CELLPADDING="n" n is the distance between the cell edge and the text within that cell in pixels. VSPACE=n For images whose alignment will wrap text around them, n is the number of pixels of blank space to be kept above and below the image. HSPACE=n For images whose alignment will wrap text around them, n is the number of pixels of blank space to be kept to either side of the image. ═══ Syntax ═══ HSPACE=n> VSPACE=n>

... cell data ...

═══ 4.

- Table Data. ═══ The

Tag defines the start and end of a block of text which makes up a cell in a table. This can include graphics, URL references and even other tables. You can also instruct the browse to make this cell cover one or more other cells to the right and down. For example, this lets you create multi colume headings, summary lines, etc. You can do it on any cell in the table. ═══ Parameters ═══ ALIGN="LEFT | RIGHT | CENTER" This parameters tells the browser how to align the data within the cell. ROWSPAN=n n is the number of rows that this cell is to cover. Thus allowing you to create cells that extend over more than one row. COLSPAN=n n is the number of columes that this cell is to cover. Thus allowing you to create cells that extend over more than one colume. You can use this to create multi-olume titles and summary lines. NOWRAP This tells the browser not to automatically wrap the text within the cell. To control wrapping you can use
tags. ═══ Syntax ═══

... cell data ...

═══ 5.

- Table Heading. ═══ The

Tag is used when you want the first row of a table to be a row of headings for the rest of the table. You simply replace the

tags for the first row with

tags. The actual result of doing this is not that much different. All it effectively does is to Bold the text usd in the first row. However it is good for making it clear that the row is a row of headings. ═══ Parameters ═══ ALIGN="LEFT | RIGHT | CENTER" This parameters tells the browser how to align the data within the cell. ROWSPAN=n n is the number of rows that this cell is to cover. Thus allowing you to create cells that extend over more than one row. COLSPAN=n n is the number of columes that this cell is to cover. Thus allowing you to create cells that extend over more than one colume. You can use this to create multi-olume titles and summary lines. NOWRAP This tells the browser not to automatically wrap the text within the cell. To control wrapping you can use
tags. ═══ Syntax ═══

... Colume Heading ...

═══ 6.

... cell data ...

═══ 7. - Base Directory. ═══ is only valid within ... tags. The Tag is used to define a base directory from which all subsequent file references are made. This only works for relative file references such as './bitmap.gif'. Absolute references are not effected. Using this tags gives you the ability to change the base directory as setup in your HTML servers configuration. However I do recommend that you only do this after carefully considering other options because it can cause probelsm when you need to reference files outside of the directory structure. ═══ Parameters ═══ HREF="URL" This parameter is Required. URL is any valid directory on your server which is to be the new base directory for all subsequent calls for documents and references within them. ═══ Syntax ═══ ═══ 8. - Body of Document. ═══ defines the start and the end of the textural content of the document. I.e. only text and graphics within the will be displayed by the browser. This tag can also be used to define the colour of text, links, visited links and the background for the page to be displayed. Further you can also specify a bitmap that will be used as a background. This can be very effective as it greatly enhances the look of a page, however it can also result in eye searing pages, so careful selection of colours and graphics is recommended. ═══ Parameters ═══ BACKGROUND="GraphicFile" GraphicFile can be any GIF or JPG format graphic file. It should have the GIF or JPG extension to ensure that the browser has no problem with it. BGCOLOR="Color" Color is a hexidecimal number which tells the browser what colour to use for the background. The format for it is "#rrggbb" where rr is the red component, gg is the green and bb is the blue component. For example, "#000000" is equal to black, "#FFFFFF" is equal to white, "#800080" is equal to dark purple, and "#CCCCCC" is equal to light grey. TEXT="Color" Color is a hexidecimal number which tells the browser what colour to use for the text of the document. LINK="Color" Color is a hexidecimal number which tells the browser what colour to use for links to other documents. VLINK="Color" Color is a hexidecimal number which tells the browser what colour to use for links to other documents which you have already visited. ═══ Syntax ═══ ═══ 9.

- Form Definition. ═══ can be used as a replacement for the tag or within it to create a form within the body of a document. It is used to define the start and end of a data entry form. I.e. you can enter data into fields which are then transmitted to the web site for processing. The most common example of this that you will probably have used is the data entry screen for search programs such as Yahoo. ═══ Parameters ═══ METHOD="POST | GET" This parameter is Required. This parameter defines how a form sends data to the server. POST is the preferred option (although it's not the default) as it sends the data to the server through it's normal I/O routines and therefore is easier to handle by the CGI scripts that do the work. GET is the default and sends the data to the server as a URL request with the data added to the end of the URL. This has a maximum limit of 1024 characters. ACTION="URL" This parameter is Required. This parameter defines the script or program that the form will send the data to. Typically this will be a Perl script with a .CGI extension, however yif you are using OS/2 servers, REXX scripting can also be used. ENCTYPE="MimeType" This parameter defines the the mime encoding to use for the data. Usually this is not required. ═══ Syntax ═══ ═══ 10. - Document Heading. ═══ defines the documents heading section. It appears within the tags and usually before the tag. It is used to define heading related information which at this stage consists of the documents title and tags. is an important part of good HTML and should always be in every page along with the which define the documents title. ═══ <hidden> Parameters ═══ The <HEAD> tag has no parameters. ═══ <hidden> Syntax ═══ <HTML> <HEAD> <BASE ...> <TITLE> document Title ═══ 11. - HTML Document. ═══ defines the start and end of a HTML document. Whilst not strictly required, it is considered good HTML to have this tag in place. It can also be used to define the HTML level that is used throughout this document. Although only the most energetic authors put this in place. Some HTML editors will create this information for you. ═══ Parameters ═══ VERSION="HTMLVersion" This parameter defines the HTML version used throughout the document and will look something like this: VERSION="-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN//2.0" Don't ask me to explain it ! ═══ Syntax ═══ ═══ 12. - Indicates Searchable Index. ═══ There is no corresponding end tag for . For long textural documents, a search engine can be made available by including this tag. To access it you add a query to the end of the URL you use to request the HTML page like this: http://www.os2zone.aus.net/subs/zone.html?Derek+Clarkson Providing that zone.html has the tag on it somewhere, the browser will then search the page it receives for the two words 'Derek' and 'Clarkson'. Documents that are searchable also have a data entry added to the window from which you can execute queries on the document. By default the text string "This is a searchable index. Enter search keybwords:" is used with it, but you can override this with your own message as per below. ═══ Parameters ═══ PROMPT="PromptText" PromptText is a message which will be displayed at the top of the document to indicate that it is searchable. ═══ Syntax ═══ ═══ 13. - Document Title. ═══ <TITLE> is only valid within <HEAD> ... </HEAD> tags. The <TITLE> Tag defines the documents title which will generally appear in the title bar of the browser you are using. It can also be used for creating a table of contents automatically. ═══ <hidden> Parameters ═══ The <TITLE> tag has no parameters. ═══ <hidden> Syntax ═══ <HEAD> <TITLE>Document Title ═══ 14.

- Addresses. ═══ The

Tag is used to highlight some text that is an address of some sort. ═══ Parameters ═══ The

tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══

Address text

═══ 15. - Bold Text. ═══ The Tag bolds all text within it's boundaries. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ ... document text ... ═══ 16.
- BlockQuotes. ═══ The
Tag is most often used to highlight material which has been sourced from othr documents, whether paper or electronic. It has the effect of indenting the text which makes it useful for formatting. ═══ Parameters ═══ The
tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══
Reference text
═══ 17.
- Line Break. ═══ The
Tag is used to create a line break between two lines. If you want to separate paragraphs, then use the
Tag.
does the same job but does not leave any space between the lines. ═══ Parameters ═══ The
tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ ... text
... text ═══ 18.
- Center text. ═══ The Tag Centers all text within it's boundaries. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ ... document text ... ═══ 19. - Citation. ═══ The Tag is most often used to highlight citations from other documents. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Reference text ═══ 20. - Program Code. ═══ The Tag is most often used to highlight program code written in a document as an example. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Program code ═══ 21. - Emphasis. ═══ The Tag is most often used to provide Emphasis on the enclosed text. This is most often done as Italics, but is up to the way your browser interprets the tag. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ text ═══ 22. - Font Size. ═══ The Tag sets the size of all text within it's boundaries bigger or smaller than the base font size in your browser. This can be very handy for creating highlighted text by changing it's size or creating false headings which look like Heading Tags but don't use them. Note: To create a false heading, use both and . ═══ Parameters ═══ SIZE=n This parameter is Required. n can range from -3 to 5 and indicates the size bigger or smaller than the default size to make the text. ═══ Syntax ═══ ... document text ... ═══ 23. - Headings. ═══ The Tag sets the enclosed text up as a heading. This means that it is set on it's own Line as though a tags had been added before and after it. There are currently 6 levels of headings from H1 to H6. The only thing that they change is the size of the font. Heading 1 is quite big and heading 6 is normal text size. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Heading text ═══ 24. - Italic text. ═══ The Tag Sets all text to Italics within it's boundaries. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ ... document text ... ═══ 25. - Keyboard. ═══ The Tag is most often used to indicate text that is to be, or has been typed in at the keyboard. This usually results in a Courier font as though you had used the tag, however formatting of spaces and paragraphs is still done. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Text ═══ 26. - Paragraph. ═══ The Tag creates a new paragraph and also places a few pixels worth of space between the two paragraphs. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ ... text ... text ═══ 27. - Preformatted Text. ═══ The Tag cause all text within it's boundaries to remain as it was typed in. If you do not add any tags to your document, a browser will reformat the text, removing carriage returns, extra spaces, etc. so that the text is one big paragraph, ignoring any formatting you may have done. The tag tells the browser to leave the enclosed text exactly as it is in the source file, extra spaces and carriage returns included. This is a very handy facility as it gives you a quick way to create tables and lists, it can also be useful as the default font is also used for preformatted text (usually Courier) hich can give a good look to some sections of a document. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ document text ═══ 28. - Sample text. ═══ The Tag is most often used to highlight sample output from a program. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Sample output ═══ 29. - Strong Emphasis. ═══ The Tag is most often used to provide a emphasis to the enclosed text. This typically results in bolding of the text. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Sample output ═══ 30. - Teletype text. ═══ The Tag is most often used to make the enclosed text look as if it had come off a teletype machine. This usually results in the text be set to a font of Courier. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Output Text ═══ 31. - Underline Text. ═══ The Tag Underlines all text within it's boundaries. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ ... document text ... ═══ 32. - Variable. ═══ The Tag is most often used to highlight variable names in the text. This also usually results in Italic being applied. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Variable ═══ 33. - Link Anchor. ═══ The Tag is used to denote a block of text which is a anchor or clickable link to another document, a email form, or a file for automatic downloading. You can also use it to assign names to points in your document which can be used as targets for links as well. I.e. clicking on the text will goto that particular spot on the page. You can also assign images as anchors by including them within the boundaries of the tag. This tags requires either the HREF tag or the NAME tag, or both. But at least one must be present or it does nothing. To link to another page and also specify where in that page you wish to go, you would use a link like HREF="./home.html#BOTTOM". The "#" character tells the browser to use the following text as a place name within the target page. To simply goto another part of the same page just use the name assigned to that particular location. I.e. HREF="#BOTTOM". ═══ Parameters ═══ HREF="Target" Either this parameter or NAME is Required. Target can be any one of a number of things as follows: A link to another document. For example, to link to another site you could use a WWW address such as "http://www.os2zone.aus.net". Or altenatively you can link to another page on your own server by using a relative path such as "../../bitmaps/graph1.html". An email target. For example to mail me, you would use "mailto:derek@os2zone.aus.net". One of a range of other link types. Most common amongst these are "ftp: ...", "telnet: ...", and "gopher: ...". NAME="Name" Either this parameter or HREF is Required. Name is a unique name to be assigned to this place in this page. You can use the name in other pages, but only once in the same page. REL="NEXT | PREVIOUS | PARENT | MADE" This parameter describes the relationship between this page and the one being used as the target of the link. REV="NEXT | PREVIOUS | PARENT | MADE" This parameter is the reverse of the previous one in that it tells use the relationship of the target document to the current one. TITLE="Text" Text is some advisary information about the title of the target document. Usually it is the same as the target page's ... text. ═══ Syntax ═══ ... Clickable Anchor Text, images ... ═══ 34. - Horizontal Rule. ═══ has no corresponding end tag. draws a straight line across the width of the browsers page. This can be very good for providing visiual queues which break the document up into meanful sections. By modifying a couple of parameters you can also control the alignment, width and thickness of the line, giving you the ability to get quite decorative effects. The ultimate rules though are created by using bitmaps which are only a few pixels high and very wide. You then place then using the tag. ═══ Parameters ═══ ALIGN="LEFT | RIGHT | CENTER" Aligns the rule with either the left hand side of the window, right hand side or centers it. NOSHADE There is no value for this parameter. This tells the browser not to provide shading on the rule. SIZE=n n is the number of pixels high to make the rule. WIDTH="Number | Percentage%" Number tells the browser to make the rule a specific number of pixels. Percentage tells it to make the rule a percentage of the current width of the window. I prefer using Percenages such as 50% or 75%, as it then does not matter how wide the surfer has set their window to. The default for this is the full width of the window. ═══ Syntax ═══ ═══ 35. - Graphic Image. ═══ has no corresponding end tag. reads in a graphic image stored in a GIF or JPG file from the server and draws it's contents at the current spot in the browser. This tag is responsible for almost all the graphics you see on the WWW. ═══ Parameters ═══ ALIGN="LEFT | RIGHT | TOP | TEXTTOP | MIDDLE | ABSMIDDLE | BASELINE | BOTTOM | ABSBOTTOM" Aligns the graphic according to one of the following rules: LEFT Aligns the graphic along the left hand margin and wraps text around the right hand side of it. RIGHT Aligns the graphic along the right hand margin and wraps text around the left hand side of it. TOP Aligns the graphic with the tallest item in the current line. TEXTTOP Aligns the graphic with the top of the tallest text in the line. MIDDLE Aligns the baseline of the current text with the middle of the image. NOTE: this does not wrap the text. ABSMIDDLE Aligns the middel of the text with the middle of the graphic. NOTE: this does not wrap the text. BASELINE (Default) Aligns the graphic with the baseline of the current line. BOTTOM Same as BASELINE. ABSBOTTOM Aligns the Graphic with the bottom of the current line. WIDTH=n This is required if HEIGHT is present. n is the width of the image in pixels. Using this helps the browser to display graphics quickly as it can predict the space needed by the graphic before it receives it. HEIGHT=n This is required if WIDTH is present. n is the height of the image in pixels. Using this helps the browser to display graphics quickly as it can predict the space needed by the graphic before it receives it. BORDER=n n is the thickness of the border to be added around the graphic. VSPACE=n For images whose alignment will wrap text around them, n is the number of pixels of blank space to be kept above and below the image. HSPACE=n For images whose alignment will wrap text around them, n is the number of pixels of blank space to be kept to either side of the image. ═══ Syntax ═══ ═══ 36. - Definition List, Item Description. ═══ This tag does not require a corresponding end tag. It is used to indicate the the next block of text is the description for the item in the description list. The browser will keep formatting data as part of this description until a or tag is encountered. ═══ Parameters ═══ The tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Title ... Description text ... ═══ 37. - Directory List. ═══ This tag defines the the following items will be part of a directory list. This is usually a short list of 20 or so items which have short names. ═══ Parameters ═══ COMPACT This parameter cause the browser to reduce the amount of space between items in the list. Note:- This is not supported by all browsers. ═══ Syntax ═══ Item text ... Item text ... ═══ 38. - Definition List. ═══ This tag defines that the following items will be part of a definition list. This is a list where each item has a title, followed by a description which is indented from the left margin. The title text of each item is signified by a tag. The textural description of this item is set with a Typically this would be used in cases where you are listing some information and then describing it. For example, a list of WWW URLs with an associated description of place. ═══ Parameters ═══ COMPACT This parameter cause the browser to reduce the amount of space between items in the list. Note:- This is not supported by all browsers. ═══ Syntax ═══ Item title ... Item description ... ═══ 39. - Definition List, Item Title. ═══ This tag does not required a corresponding end tag. This tag defines the title text for each item in a definition list. ═══ Parameters ═══ This tag has no parameters. ═══ Syntax ═══ Item title ... Item description ... ═══ 40. - List Item. ═══ This tag does not required a corresponding end tag. This tag defines the text for each item in a standard list. Note:It is not used in a definition list. ═══ Parameters ═══ TYPE="A | a | I | i | 1 | DISC | CIRCLE | SQUARE" This parameter is used to over ride the settings of the or tags, see them for further details of this parameter. ═══ Syntax ═══ Item text ... ═══ 41. - Menu List. ═══ This tag defines a menu list which is a list of items where each item would fit on one line. ═══ Parameters ═══ COMPACT This parameter cause the browser to reduce the amount of space between items in the list. Note:- This is not supported by all browsers. ═══ Syntax ═══ Item text ... ═══ 42. - Ordered List. ═══ This tag defines a list where each item is assigned a number. This makes it very useful insituations such as instruction manuals. All items within this list must be preceeded with a tag. ═══ Parameters ═══ COMPACT This parameter cause the browser to reduce the amount of space between items in the list. Note:- This is not supported by all browsers. TYPE="A | a | I | i | 1" This parameter specifies the numbering system to be used. A - Uppercase alphabetic letters. a - Lowercase alphabetic letters. I - Uppercase Roman letters. i - Lowercase Roman letters. 1 - Aribic numbers (default). ═══ Syntax ═══ Item text ... ═══ 43. - Un-Ordered List. ═══ This tag defines a list where each item is unordered. It therefore assigns a bullet to indicate the new item. This makes it useful for such things as listing software features etc. All items within this list must be preceeded with a tag. ═══ Parameters ═══ COMPACT This parameter cause the browser to reduce the amount of space between items in the list. Note:- This is not supported by all browsers. TYPE="DISC | CIRCLE | SQUARE" This parameter specifies the bullet type to be used. ═══ Syntax ═══ Item text ... ═══ 44. - Data Input Objects. ═══ There is no corresponding end tag for . This tag defines a form object. There are a number available: Text Entry fields. These are used to collect textural data. They only expect a single line of text. Password Entry fields. These are used to collect a password. Any typed characters are replaced with a "*" character. Hidden Data fields. These are used to pass predefined strings to the CGI script. Usually such things as a file name, screen name, directory, etc. CheckBoxes. Standard window checkboxes to indicate an On/Off state. Radio Buttons. Multichoice selections. Again standard window stuff. Submit Buttons. Used to submit the form to the CGI script for processing. Reset Buttons. Reset and blanks the form. Image Buttons. Uncommon, but allows you to design your own buttons. Each form object that you add to a HTML page must have a couple of things so that the CGI script can understand what to do with the data. Firstly it must have a TYPE parameter which tells it which of the above objects is being defined, and secondly it must have a NAME parameter which defines the varibale to be used for passing the objects data to the script. The requirements of other parameters is dependant on which type of object is being used. ═══ Parameters ═══ TYPE="TEXT | PASSWORD | CHECKBOX | HIDDEN | RADIO | SUBMIT | RESET | IMAGE" This parameter is require. This parameter defines the type of object being created. NAME="Name" This parameter is require. This parameter specifies the name for the variable that will be passed to the CGI script. It must be unique within the form and it must follow any naming conventions that the scripting language has. VALUE="Value" Value has different meanings depending on the object type. If it is a text entry field then it is the default text to be displayed. For radio buttons and checkboxes it is the value to be displayed and is also the value passed to the script to indicated that the item has been selected. For Submit and Reset buttons it is the text to be displayed on the buttton. SIZE=n N is the visible size of textural fields in characters. Hidden fields do not need this parameter. MAXLENGTH=n n is the maximum numbr of characters the field will accept. Only relevant for text entry fields and password fields. CHECKED For radio buttons and checkboxes, this sets the object to selected before the document is displayed to the user. ALIGN="TOP | MIDDLE | BOTTOM" This sets the alignment of objects when graphics are also within the ... boundaries. Refer to the tag for further information. ═══ Syntax ═══ ═══ 45.