HTML area tag

Note: If you don't know what an element/tag is and/or how you must use it we recommend you read our HTML tags and attributes tutorial, which you can find in our HTML tutorials section.

Description

The HTML area element defines a sector or area in an image map. There are three types of areas: circular, rectangular or poligonal.

Image maps are commonly used toghether with images to specify zones for them, which are usually linked to other documents or resources. These zones are declared with the HTML area element. This way, authors can link, for example, a circular portion of an image to another document.

Examples

In the following example we define an image map associated to a menu image. There, we specify three squares for each textual item and the three circles associated to them. The links point to the resources stated in the text.

Attributes

id (name)

The "id" attribute assigns an identifier to the associated element. This identifier must be unique in the document and can be used to refer to that element in other instances (e.g., from client-side scripts).

class (cdata)

The "class" attribute assigns a class name (or a list of class names separated by spaces) to the container element. It's used together with style sheets and tells the browser the class (or classes) to which the element is associated.

A class gives presentational attributes to elements (read more at the Cascading Style Sheets tutorial).

style (style)

This attribute is used to define presentational attributes for the containing element, and its value should be composed by style sheets properties. Although in some cases it can become useful, a better practice is to place presentational attributes in external files, relating them to elements with the "class" attribute. This way you keep the semantic and presentational parts of your document separated.

You can find more information about presentational attributes at the Cascading Style Sheets tutorial.

title (text)

The purpose of this attribute is to provide a title for the element. Its value must be a short and accurate description of the element. Browsers usually render it as a "tool tip" when the user puts the mouse pointer over the element for a short period of time.

lang (langcode)

Specifies the language of an element's content. The default value is "unknown".

When writing XHTML 1.0 documents, the attribute used to specify the language of an elements is "xml:lang". For forward and backward compatibility both attributes can be used simultaneously as in the example below. Note that in XHTML 1.1, the "lang" attribute has been completely replaced by "xml:lang" and its use is no longer valid.

dir

This attribute indicates the direction in which the texts of the element must be read. This includes content, attribute values and tables. It has two possible values that are case-insensitive:

• RTL: Right to left.
• LTR: Left to right.

shape

Specifies the form of a shape used to define an area in an image map. Values are case-insensitive and must correspond to the ones in this list:

• default: Selects the entire region.
• rect: Defines a rectangular region.
• circle: Defines a circular region.
• poly: Defines a polygonal region.

coords

Specifies the coordinates and position of the shape defined in the "shape" attribute. The coordinates depend on the shape used:

• rect: left-x, top-y, right-x, bottom-y (e.g., "0, 0, 10, 10" defines a square with 10 pixels sides that touches the top and left borders of the image).
• circle: center-x, center-y, radius (e.g., "20, 20, 20" defines a circle with a radius of 20 pixels that touches the top and peft borders of the image). If the radius is measured in percentage, its calculated as a percentage of the smallest size of the associated object.
• poly: x1, y1, x2, y2, ..., xN, yN (e.g., "0, 20, 20, 20, 10, 0, 0, 20" defines a triangle with a base and height of 20 pixels that touches the top and left borders of the image). This defines a closed polygon. If you define an open polygon, the browser should close it by adding a segment from the first point to the last one.

Coordinates are relative to the top-left corner of the associated object. Coordinates have a length type and are separated by commas.

href (uri)

The "href" attribute specifies the destination resource, which the element is linking to. It may specify a resource in the same website or in an external one.

alt (text)

The value of this attribute provides a textual alternative for the piece of image the element affects, and therefore must describe it exactly. This is vital when the development of the website needs to reach visually impaired audiences.

target (frame-target)

Specifies the name of the frame where the destination document should be loaded. Refer to the frame-target type definition for further information.

tabindex (number)

Specifies the position of this element in the tabbing order. The tabbing order defines a sequence with all the elements than can receive the focus. Users can navigate this sequence via keyboard (usually with the "tab" key).

accesskey (character)

Relates the element to a character key. Most browsers allow users to access the element by pressing that key while holding down the "alt" key. The activation result depends on the element's nature. For links, this action automatically follows the link, while other elements simply get the focus.

nohref

The presence of this boolean attribute means that the area defined by the element isn not pointing to a resource (i.e., there's no link to follow).

Remember that in XHTML, boolean attributes must take their own names as value (e.g., attr_name="attr_name").

Events

• onfocus
• onblur
• onclick
• ondblclick
• onmousedown
• onmouseup
• onmouseover
• onmousemove
• onmouseout
• onkeypress
• onkeydown
• onkeyup

See a complete list and information about events in HTML