A – Hyperlink (CHANGED) - HTML5 - W3C On GitHub

jump

HTML: The Markup Language (an HTML language reference)

« elements abbr »

ⓘ a – hyperlink CHANGED # T

The a element represents a hyperlink.

Permitted contents #

transparent (either phrasing content or flow content )

Permitted attributes #

global attributes & href & target & rel & hreflang & media & type

ⓘ global attributes Any attributes permitted globally. ⓘ href = URL potentially surrounded by spaces # A URL that provides the destination of the hyperlink. If the href attribute is not specified, the element represents a placeholder hyperlink. ⓘ target = browsing-context name or keyword CHANGED # A name or keyword giving a browsing context for UAs to use when following the hyperlink. The target attribute on the a element was deprecated in a previous version of HTML, but is no longer deprecated, as it useful in Web applications, particularly in combination with the iframe element. Any string that is either of the following:

• a browsing-context name
• any case-insensitive match for one of the following literal strings: "_blank", "_self", "_parent", or "_top".

ⓘ rel = set of space-separated tokens # A list of tokens that specify the relationship between the document containing the hyperlink and the destination indicated by the hyperlink. ⓘ hreflang = language tag # The language of the destination of the hyperlink. A valid language tag as defined in [BCP 47]. ⓘ media = media-query list NEW # The media for which the destination of the hyperlink was designed. A valid media query list as defined in [Media Queries]. ⓘ type = MIME type # The MIME type of the destination of the hyperlink. A string that identifies a valid MIME media type as defined in [RFC 2046].

Additional constraints and admonitions #

• The interactive element a must not appear as a descendant of the a element.
• The interactive element a must not appear as a descendant of the button element.
• The coords attribute on the a element is obsolete. For image maps, use the area element instead of the a element.
• The shape attribute on the a element is obsolete. For image maps, use the area element instead of the a element.
• The urn attribute on the a element is obsolete. Specify the preferred persistent identifier using the href attribute instead.
• The charset attribute on the a element is obsolete. Use an HTTP Content-Type header on the linked resource instead.
• The methods attribute on the a element is obsolete. Use the HTTP OPTIONS feature instead.
• The rev attribute on the a element is obsolete. Use the rel attribute instead, with a term having the opposite meaning.
• The name attribute on the a element is obsolete. Consider putting an id attribute on the nearest container instead.

Tag omission #

An a element must have both a start tag and an end tag.

Permitted parent elements #

any element that can contain phrasing elements, any element that can contain flow elements

Changes in HTML5 #

Although previous versions of HTML restricted the a element to only containing phrasing content (essentially, what was in previous versions referred to as “inline” content), the a element is now transparent; that is, an instance of the a element is now allowed to also contain flow content (essentially, what was in previous versions referred to as “block” content)—if the parent element of that instance of the a element is an element that is allowed to contain flow content.

Details #

If the contents of an a element are empty, the element represents an empty hyperlink.

DOM interface #

interface HTMLAnchorElement : HTMLElement { stringifier attribute DOMString href; attribute DOMString target; attribute DOMString rel; readonly attribute DOMTokenList relList; attribute DOMString media; attribute DOMString hreflang; attribute DOMString type; attribute DOMString text; // URL decomposition IDL attributes attribute DOMString protocol; attribute DOMString host; attribute DOMString hostname; attribute DOMString port; attribute DOMString pathname; attribute DOMString search; attribute DOMString hash; };

Typical default display properties #

a:link, a:visited { color: (internal value); text-decoration: underline; cursor: auto; } a:link:active, a:visited:active { color: (internal value); }

Examples #

A hyperlink intended to be useful in output for all media types except the print media type.

<a href="./page2.html" rel=next media="not print">next</a>

The name attribute is obsolete.

<a name="section5"/>

A placeholder hyperlink.

<a>prev</a>

A hyperlink that will cause its target to be opened in a new browsing context.

<a href="http://help.example.com" target="_blank">Help</a>

The value of the href attribute contains a space character.

some <a href="http://example.com/Archive/Public Data/">public</a> data is also available

A hyperlink that represents multiple link types.

<a href="../toc.html" rel="index up">up</a>

A hyperlink that contains a paragraph.

<a href="javascript:void(0);" onmouseover="return anno('Note: This paragraph is informative only.') onmouseout="return anno_bye();"> <p>The following is introductory information…</p> </a> « elements abbr »