Please note that most of this material is copyrighted by someone else. This file is intended for MY PERSONAL USE ONLY. If you want a comprehensive HTML resource, go to The Tucows HTML accessories page.

<!--...

Comment. Terminate with -->

<!--#...

Server side include. File must be .SHTML for server to recognize.

• BREAK will halt page transmission from server.
• ECHO VAR="variablename" will echo a POSTed variable, or a system variable as follows:
  • DOCUMENT_NAME local path of current document
  • DOCUMENT_URI local path referenced to base directory
  • QUERY_STRING_UNESCAPED query string sent by client browser
  • DATE_LOCAL current local date and time
  • DATE_GMT current GMT date and time
  • LAST_MODIFIED last modification time and date
  • REMOTE_ADDR IP address of remote client browser
  • QUERY_STRING raw query string from remote browser
  • SERVER_SOFTWARE HTTP server software name
  • SERVER_NAME HTTP server computer name
  • GATEWAY_INTERFACE name and version of server gateway
  • SERVER_PROTOCOL name and version of HTTP served
  • SERVER_PORT IP port server is answering on
  • REQUEST_METHOD method by which current document requested
  • PATH_INFO extra virtual path sent
  • PATH_TRANSLATED physical version of PATH_INFO
  • SCRIPT_NAME virtual path of executing script
  • REMOTE_HOST host name of remote client
  • AUTH_TYPE method used to validate remote client
  • REMOTE_USER user name used to validate from remote client
  • REMOTE_IDENT Remote user name if supporting RFC931 identification
  • CONTENT_TYPE of attached information if POST or PUT
  • CONTENT_LENGTH length of POST or PUT data
  • HTTP_ACCEPT MIME types accepted by remote client
  • HTTP_USER_AGENT remote client browser software
  • REFERER URL of previous client location
  • FROM usually EMail address of remote user
  • FORWARDED name of proxy server allowing processing
  • ACCEPT_LANGUAGE human languages supported by client browser
  • HTTP_COOKIE cookie sent by remote client
• CONFIG allows configuration of SSI data.
  • ERRMSG="error!" prints error! on some errors
  • TIMEFMT defines the format of date and time output.
  • SIZEFMT defines the format of file size output.
  • CMDECHO="on" (off) prints output from CMD SSI tags
  • CMDPREFIX="<LI>" preceeds each CMD output line with an <LI>
  • CMDPOSTFIX="<BR>" each CMD output line followed by a <BR>
  • ERRMSG allows more detailed and fancier error messages.
• EMAIL server automatically sends EMail
  • FROMHOST sending SMTP mail host
  • TOHOST recieving SMTP mail host
  • FROMADDRESS email address of the sender
  • TOADDRESS email address of the intended recipient
  • MESSAGE main body of the message
  • SUBJECT the subject of the message
  • SENDER identifies the sender
  • REPLYTO email address to be replied to
  • CC addresses of courtesy copy recipients
  • INREPLYTO inreply field of message
  • ID id field of message
• EXEC system command or script executed
  • CMD defines the system command to excecute
  • CGI defines the script to execute
• FLASTMOD last modification date of file in VIRTUAL or FILE
• FSIZE file size of file in VIRTUAL or FILE
• GOTO="wherever" continues server sending at LABEL="wherever"
• IF beyond the scope of this file.
• INCLUDE includes the file in VIRTUAL or FILE
• ODBC database command. Beyond the scope of this file.

<!DOCTYPE ...>

Defines the data type of the file contents.

<A ...></A>

Inserts a clickable anchor.

• <A HREF="insert URL here">URL</A>
  references an internet resource. (http,ftp,mailto,gopher,wais,news,newsrc,nttp,telnet)
• <A NAME=chap1>Chapter 1</A>
  references <A HREF=#chap1>Chapter 1</A>
• <A HREF="URL" NAME="Click me!">here</A>
  Inserts "Click ME!" as pop-up help in modern browsers.
• <A HREF="URL" TARGET="New_Window">Click here for the URL in a new window</A>
  Netscape specific, "New_Window" will be name of new window.
• REV, REL, URN, METHODS
  beyond the scope of this file.

<ADDRESS>

<ADDRESS>your name here<br></ADDRESS> Italicizes and indents.

<APPLET ...>

Beyond the scope of this file.

<B></B>

Text between codes is in bold.

<BGSOUND ...>

<BGSOUND SRC="junk.wav"> uses junk.wav as the background audio.
LOOP=-1 Specifies the number of times the sound is to be played, -1 = Infinite.
.WAV and .AU files played in Netscape, Mosaic and IExplore, only IExplore will play .MID

<BIG></BIG>

Enclosed text is bigger.

<BLINK></BLINK>

Enclosed text blinks in NetScrape

<BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>

Indents the paragraph.

<BODY></BODY>

Contains the body of the HTML document

• BACKGROUND="URL" URL of a graphic to use as the background.
• BGCOLOR="colour" Colour of the background.
• LINK, VLINK, ALINK, TEXT also define respective colours.
• BGPROPERTIES=FIXED will keep the background from scrolling with the text. IExplore only.
• LEFTMARGIN="60" adds a 60 pixel margin to the left.
• TOPMARGIN="60" adds a 60 pixel margin to the top.

<BR>

Forces a carriage return.

• CLEAR=LEFT (RIGHT, ALL) Will insert CRs until the left margin is clear of all inline images and tables.

<CENTER></CENTER>

Centers enclosed text

<CITE></CITE>

Enclosed text is in citation format. Usually italics.

<CODE></CODE>

Selects a rendered, monospaced font.

<COMMENT></COMMENT>

Enclosed text is a comment in Mosaic and IExplore.

<DFN></DFN>

Enclosed text is a term being defined. Usually italics.

<DIR>

Begins a list of elements up to 20 caracters each. Usually bulleted. Elements require <LI>

<DIV></DIV>

<DIV ALIGN="left"> aligns text to the left. (right, center)

<DL> <DD> <DT>

Definition list

• <DL></DL> contains definitions
• <DT> marks beginning of term
• <DD> marks beginning of definition
• <DL COMPACT> uses less space

<EM></EM>

Enclosed text is emphasized.

<EMBED ...>

Embed an OLE object, or a plug-in.

• SRC="file.ext" file must have an OLE enabled viewer properly installed.
  Double-clicking launches the editor, if client properly configured.
• HEIGHT, WIDTH defines window height and width in pixels or % of screen
• See <IMG> for definitions of BORDER, ALIGN, WIDTH, HEIGHT

<FONT ...> <BASEFONT ...>

Defines the font. BaseFont defines the font to use unless otherwise specified.

• COLOR=RED Defines the colour.
• FACE="" Defines True-Type font to use.
  FACE="Arial","Lucidia Sans" provides an alternative.
• SIZE="" Defines the font size. +2 will make it 2 sizes bigger than BaseFont

<FORM></FORM>

Contains elemnts of a form.

• ACTION="URL" URL to access when data submitted.
• METHOD=GET (POST) defines the submission method.
• ENCTYPE defines the MIME type of the data.
• <INPUT> Defines a variable input method.
  • CHECKED Indicates that a checkbox or radio button is initially selected.
  • MAXLENGTH defines the maximum string length of a text field.
  • NAME defines the variable name to be used when submitting the data.
  • SIZE defines the visible size of an input area (in chars for text)
  • TYPE defines the type of input field.
    • IMAGE immediately submits form, with X and Y coords of your click submitted as field_name.x and field_name.y
      • ALIGN, SRC see <IMG>
    • CHECKBOX simple boolean checkbox.
    • HIDDEN invisible to user, used for HTML author to send info
    • PASSWORD same as TEXT, but input invisible.
    • RADIO used for selecting from alternatives, all need the name NAME
    • RESET button for resetting the form. Label can be defined with VALUE
    • SUBMIT button for submitting data. Label can be defined with VALUE
    • TEXT area for single-line text. Needs SIZE and MAXLENGTH
    • FILE netscape specific and beyond the scope. Could be used for uploading?
  • VALUE defines inital value, required for radio buttons, or value to be returned if boolean variable
• <SELECT></SELECT> Provides a list of options from which to choose.
  • MULTIPLE allows the selection of multiple items from the list.
  • NAME same as in <INPUT>.
  • SIZE defines the number of visible items
  • <OPTION> marks the start of an item to be selected from the list.
• <TEXTAREA></TEXTAREA> allows the entering of multiple lines of text.
  Enclosed text is initial value of the field.
  • NAME defines the variable name for inputted text.
  • ROWS, COLS defines the visible size of the input field
  • WRAP (OFF,VIRTUAL,PHYSICAL) Netscape specific method of wrapping text.
    • OFF no word wrapping.
    • VIRTUAL words are wrapped on client, but not on submission.
    • PHYSICAL client adds CR/LF to submitted and visible text.

<H1></H1> (1 through 6)

Enclosed text is a header, sizes from 1 to 6.

• ALIGN=LEFT aligns it left (right, center)

<HEAD></HEAD>

Encloses the document header.

• <BASE ...> Sets defaults for <A HREF> tags in the document.
  <BASE HREF="http://www.engsoc.carleton.ca/~colonel/> specifies that all files come from my directory unless told otherwise.
  <BASE TARGET="New-Window"> Opens all links in a new window called "New-Window" unless told otherwise.
• <ISINDEX> Allows keyword searching of the document. Beyond the scope of this file.
• <LINK> Indicate relationships between documents
  Same arguments as <A>
• <NEXTID> Creates unique document identifiers
• <TITLE></TITLE> Identifies document title
• <META> Specifies document information useable by server/clients. Beyond the scope of this document.

<HR>

Inserts a horizontal line.

• SIZE=5 indicates the line thickness
• WIDTH=50% indicates length to be 50% of window width
• WIDTH=300 indicates lingth to be 300 pixels
• ALIGN=center aligns to the center (left, right)
• NOSHADE indicates that the line is not to be shaded

<HTML></HTML>

Enclosed text is rendered by an HTTP client

<I></I>

Enclosed text is in italics

<IMG ...>

Inserts an In-Line image

• ALIGN="top" aligns the following text with the top of the image (bottom, center)[left,right,texttop,middle,absmiddle,baseline,absbottom - Netsrape]
• ALT="alternate text"
• ISMAP identifies the image as an image map. <IMG> must be in <A> that references the imagemap.
• USEMAP="name" Client side image maps.
  • <MAP></MAP> contains the map area definitions.
    • NAME defines the name of the invisible template.
    • <AREA> defines a hotspot within the image.
      • COORDS="x1,y1,x2,y2" coordinates of hotspot
      • SHAPE="rect" Only rectangles are currently supported. Default.
      • HREF defines the URL referenced by the hotspot.
      • NOHREF inserted if hotspot has no action.
      • TARGET defines name of new window for reference.
• SRG="whatever.gif" identifies the image file.
• WIDTH, HEIGHT define the height and width so as to speed up page loading.
• BORDER defines the border size, to be the colour of the LINK
• VSPACE, HSPACE define the text margins around the image
• LOWSRC="img.gif" img.gif will load first, and the SRC will load when the rest of the page is done. Used for high-resolution graphics
• DYNSRC="file.avi" plays the avi, defaulting to SRC if AVI not supported
  • START=MOUSEOVER starts the movie. alternate is FILEOPEN
  • CONTROLS shows the AVI controls in the window
  • LOOP=-1 nimber of loops, -1=infinite
  • LOOPDELAY=100 milliseconds to wait between video loops
• VRML="file.WML" inserts the VRML world.

<KBD></KBD>

Enclosed text is printed as text to be typed. Usually rendered as monospaced.

<LI>

Identifies start of a list item element. Must reside within a list. VALUE defines the number value of the list element, for <OL> only.

<LISTING>

Usually used to contain source code sample listing. Fixed-width font.

<MARQUEE ...></MARQUEE>

IExplore specific scrolling text

• ALIGN=TOP text aligns with the top of the window (Bottom,center)
• BEHAVIOR=SCROLL repeatedly scrolls. SLIDE slides the text on, and keeps it. ALTERNATE bounces back and forth within the window
• BGCOLOR specified the background colour.
• DIRECTION=LEFT right to left. also RIGHT.
• HEIGHT,WIDTH in pixels or % of window
• VSPACE,HSPACE defines exterior text margins in pixels.
• LOOP=-1 defines number of iterations. -1=infinite
• SCROLLAMOUNT defines number of pixels to shift text between each draw
• SCROLLDELAY defines milliseconds between draws

<MENU></MENU>

Compacted unordered list.

<NOBR></NOBR>

Rendering will not add carriage returns or line feeds to enclosed text.

<NOFRAMES></NOFRAMES>

A frames capable browser ignores everything enclosed.

<OBJECT>

Inserts special OLE objects and controls. Beyond the scope of this file.

<OL></OL>

Ordered list. Adds numbers to the <LI>.

• COMPACT uses less space
• TYPE defines numbering types. (A,a,I,i,1)
• START defines the starting number

<P></P>

Enclosed text is a paragraph.

• ALIGN=LEFT aligns the text to the left of the page. (RIGHT,CENTER)

*Use align=center instead of <CENTER></CENTER>*

<PLAINTEXT>

Nothing following this tag will be rendered. Do not use </PLAINTEXT>.

<PRE></PRE>

Enclosed text is rendered as pre-formatted. Some tags can be used within, but sparingly.

• WIDTH defines the number of characters per line.

<SAMP></SAMP>

Sequence of literal characters. Typically monospaced.

<SCRIPT ...>

Contains the script for VBasic or JAVA. Beyond the scope of this file.

<SMALL></SMALL>

Same as <BIG> but small.

<SOUND ...>

Mosaic specific version of <BGSOUND> Mosaic now supports <BGSOUND> so stick to that one.

<STRIKE></STRIKE> or <S></S>

Enclosed text is struck-out. <S> is the standard, but NetScape only supports <STRIKE>.

<STRONG></STRONG>

Enclosed text is emphasized. Usually bold.

<SUB></SUB> and <SUP></SUP>

Subscript and Superscript.

<TABLE ...></TABLE ...>

Formats data as a table.

• ALIGN=left (right) aligns the table to the left of the page and allows the text to flow around it.
• BACKGROUND="imgURL" cell uses that IMG as a background for the cell. IExplore only.
• BGCOLOR defines the background colour of the table. IExplore only.
• BORDER defines the size of lines within the table.
• BORDERCOLOR defines the colour of the border. IExplore only.
• BORDERCOLORDARK, BORDERCOLORLIGHT defines the 3dimensional colours of the border. IExplore only.
• CELLSPACING defines the space between cells.
• CELLPADDING defines the space between the border and the cell contents.
• FRAME sets the type of cell borders, from the following list. IExplore specific.
  • VOID removes all external borders.
  • ABOVE only displays borders at the top of the table.
  • BELOW only displays borders at the bottom of the table.
  • HSIDES only displays the top and bottom borders
  • LHS only displays borders on the left.
  • RHS only displays borders on the right.
  • VSIDES only displays borders on the left and right.
  • BOX displays only a box around the table.
• HEIGHT,WIDTH defines table size in pixels or % of window
• RULES formatting of internal borders. IExplore only.
  • NONE no internal borders.
  • BASIC borders between <THEAD> <TBODY> and <TFOOT>
  • ROWS horizontal borders only.
  • COLS vertical borders only.
  • ALL displays all internal borders.
• VALIGN=top (bottom) aligns text within cells to the top of the cell. IExplore only.
• <CAPTION></CAPTION> contains the caption to be placed external to the table.
  • ALIGN=top (bottom) forces the caption to appear above the table.
    • IExplore allows left, right and center.
  • VALIGN=top (bottom) replaces ALIGN in IExplore if ALIGN=left (right, center) used.
• <COL></COL> specifies text alignment for columns. IExplore only.
  • ALIGN=center (justify,left,right) centers the text within the column.
  • SPAN defines the number of columns affected by the ALIGN
• <COLGROUP></COLGROUP> groups colums together for alignment properties.
  • ALIGN=(center,justify,left,right) same as <COL>
  • VALIGN=(baseline,bottom,middle,top) sets the vertical alignment of the text within the cells.
  • SPAN defines the number of columns affected by the ALIGN and VALIGN
• <TBODY></TBODY> contains the body of the table
• <TD></TD> contains the data for the cell
  • ALIGN=(left,center,right) sets the alignment of the data within the cell
  • BACKGROUND specifies the URL of the graphic to use as the cell background. (IExplore only)
  • BGCOLOR specifies the background colour for the cell (IExplore only)
  • BORDERCOLOR specifies the border colour for the cell (IExplore only)
  • BORDERCOLORLIGHT, BORDERCOLORDARK specifies the 3dimensional border colours for the cell (IExplore)
  • COLSPAN defines the number of columns this cell is to span
  • HEIGHT,WIDTH defines the height and width of the cell in pixels or %
  • NOWRAP prevents client from line-wrapping within cell
  • ROWSPAN defines the number of rows the cell is to span
  • VALIGN=(top,middle,bottom,baseline) specifies the vertical alignment of cell data.
• <TFOOT> contains the footer of the table
• <TH></TH> table column or row header cell, contents in bold.
  • SAME VARIABLES AS <TD>
• <THEAD> contains the header of the table
• <TR></TR> contains a row of cells, attributes same as <TD> and set row defaults
  • ALIGN, BGCOLOR, BORDERCOLOR, BORDERCOLORDARK, BORDERCOLORLIGHT, VALIGN

<TT></TT>

Enclosed text is rendered in teletype font. (Fixed width)

<U></U>

Enclosed text is underlined.

<UL></UL>

Unordered list. Elements usually bulleted.

• TYPE=DISC bullets are discs. (CIRCLE,SQUARE)

<VAR></VAR>

Variable name. Usually italics.

<WBR>

Word break. Suggests where to insert <BR> when rendering <NOBR> text.

<XMP></XMP>

Renders preformatted text. Fixed-width to 80 characters per line.

Colours!

In HTML, colours can be represented in 2 ways. One is in a 6-digit hexadecimal number, where the first two digits indicate the amount of red, the second two green, and the last two blue. Syntax is color="#000000" (white).

Mnemonic constant names can also be used, identifying 16 pre-defined colours. Black, olive, teal, red, blue, maroon, navy, gray, lime, fuschia, white, green, purple, silver, yellow and aqua.

The following tables shows samples of the predefined colours, but since only IExplore supports colours in tables, you can only see them there.