The cover of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Create a Web Page The Complete Idiot's HTML Tag Reference

| Index | Previous Tag: <APPLET> | Next Tag: <B> |


<AREA>

Designates the a section of an image to be used in an image map.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
3.2 and later 1.0 and later 2.0 and later
Notes:
  • A series of these tags are placed between a <MAP> tag and a </MAP> tag.
Attributes:
ACCESSKEY = "Text (single character)"
Specifies a character to use as a keyboard shortcut for selecting the image map area.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
4.0 and later Not supported Not supported

Notes:

  • The access key is invoked by using it as a key combination. For example, if you specify ACCESSKEY="P", then the user invokes the key by pressing Alt+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac).

ALT = "Text" (Required)
Specifies text that appears in place of the area if images are not displayed or supported.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
3.2 and later 4.0 and later 3.0 and later

CLASS = "Text"
The style sheet class used by the tag.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
4.0 and later Not supported Not supported

Notes:

  • You can specify two or more classes; be sure to separate each class name with a space.

COORDS = Positive integer
Specifies the coordinates, in pixels, that define the area.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
3.2 and later 1.0 and later 2.0 and later

Notes:

  • The value of this attribute depends on the value of the SHAPE attribute:
    • If SHAPE=RECT, then COORDS="left,top,right,bottom"
    • If SHAPE=CIRCLE, then COORDS="x,y,radius" (where x is measured from the left side of the image and y is measured from the top of the image).
    • If SHAPE=POLY, then COORDS="x1,y1,x2,y2,...,xn,yn" (where the various x,y pairs are the coordinates of the polygon's vertices; the x values are measured from the left edge of the image and the y values are measured from the top of the image).

HREF = "Text"
Specifies the URL of the page that appears when the area is clicked.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
3.2 and later 1.0 and later 2.0 and later

Notes:

  • Use a filename or full URL.

ID = "Text"
An alphanumeric string that uniquely identifies the tag.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
4.0 and later Not supported Not supported

Notes:

  • Although you can use letters and numbers for the ID, the first character must be a letter.

LANG = "Text"
The language used by the tag's attribute values and text content.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
4.0 and later 4.0 and later Not supported

NOHREF
Specifies that the area is not a link.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
3.2 and later 1.0 and later 2.0 and later

SHAPE = "Text"
Specifies the shape of the area.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
3.2 and later 1.0 and later 2.0 and later

Notes:

  • Possible values are RECT (this is the default), CIRCLE, and POLY.

STYLE = "Text"
The style or styles to use with the tag.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
4.0 and later Not supported Not supported

Notes:

  • If you enter multiple style properties, separate each one with a semi-colon (;).

TABINDEX = Positive integer
Specifies the area's position with the page's tabbing order.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
4.0 and later 4.0 and later Not supported

Notes:

  • The "tabbing order" is the order in which page elements are selected when the user presses the Tab key.

TARGET = "Text"
Specifies the name of the frame in which the file should appear.

Support:

HTML StandardInternet ExplorerNetscape Navigator
4.0 and later 3.0 and later 2.0 and later

Example:
<MAP NAME="TestMap">
<AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="0, 0, 199, 99" HREF="PageA.htm">
<AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="199, 0, 399, 99" HREF="PageB.htm"> 
<AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="399, 0, 599, 99" HREF="PageC.htm">
</MAP>
<IMG SRC="coords.gif" USEMAP="#TestMap">
How It Looks:

| Index | Previous Tag: <APPLET> | Next Tag: <B> |