Example
An image-map, with clickable areas:
<img src=”planets.gif” width=”145″ height=”126″ alt=”Planets”
usemap=”#planetmap”><map name=”planetmap”>
<area shape=”rect” coords=”0,0,82,126″ href=”sun.htm” alt=”Sun”>
<area shape=”circle” coords=”90,58,3″ href=”mercur.htm” alt=”Mercury”>
<area shape=”circle” coords=”124,58,8″ href=”venus.htm” alt=”Venus”>
</map>
Definition and Usage
The <area> tag defines an area inside an image-map (an image-map is an image with clickable areas).
The <area> element is always nested inside a <map> tag.
Note: The usemap attribute in the <img> tag is associated with the <map> element’s name attribute, and creates a relationship between the image and the map.
Differences Between HTML 4.01 and HTML5
HTML5 has some new attributes, and some HTML 4.01 attributes are no longer supported.
Differences Between HTML and XHTML
In HTML the <area> tag has no end tag.
In XHTML the <area> tag must be properly closed.
= New in HTML5.
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| alt | text | Specifies an alternate text for the area. Required if the href attribute is present |
| coords | coordinates | Specifies the coordinates of the area |
| download | filename | Specifies that the target will be downloaded when a user clicks on the hyperlink |
| href | URL | Specifies the hyperlink target for the area |
| hreflang | language_code | Specifies the language of the target URL |
| media | media query | Specifies what media/device the target URL is optimized for |
| nohref | value | Not supported in HTML5. Specifies that an area has no associated link |
| rel | alternate author bookmark help license next nofollow noreferrer prefetch prev search tag |
Specifies the relationship between the current document and the target URL |
| shape | default rect circle poly |
Specifies the shape of the area |
| target | _blank _parent _self _top framename |
Specifies where to open the target URL |
| type | media_type | Specifies the media type of the target URL |
Global Attributes
The <area> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.
Event Attributes
The <area> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.
Related Pages
HTML DOM reference: Area Object
Default CSS Settings
Most browsers will display the <area> element with the following default values:
area {
display: none;
}
