What is an HTML File?
- HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language
- An HTML file is a text file containing small markup tags
- The markup tags tell the Web browser how to display the page
- An HTML file must have an htm or html file extension
- An HTML file can be created using a simple text editor
Do You Want to Try It?
If you are running Windows, start Notepad.
If you are on a Mac, start SimpleText.
In OSX start TextEdit and change the following preferences: Open the the "Format" menu and select "Plain text" instead of "Rich text". Then open the "Preferences" window under the "Text Edit" menu and select "Ignore rich text commands in HTML files". Your HTML code will probably not work if you do not change the preferences above!
Type in the following text:
|
Save the file as "mypage.htm".
Start your Internet browser. Select "Open" (or "Open Page") in the File menu of your browser. A dialog box will appear. Select "Browse" (or "Choose File") and locate the HTML file you just created - "mypage.htm" - select it and click "Open". Now you should see an address in the dialog box, for example "C:\MyDocuments\mypage.htm". Click OK, and the browser will display the page.
Example Explained
The first tag in your HTML document is . This tag tells your browser that this is the start of an HTML document. The last tag in your document is . This tag tells your browser that this is the end of the HTML document.
The text between the
tag and the tag is header information. Header information is not displayed in the browser window.The text between the
The text between the
The text between the and tags will be displayed in a bold font.
HTM or HTML Extension?
When you save an HTML file, you can use either the .htm or the .html extension. We have used .htm in our examples. It might be a bad habit inherited from the past when some of the commonly used software only allowed three letter extensions.
With newer software we think it will be perfectly safe to use .html.
Note on HTML Editors:
You can easily edit HTML files using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor like FrontPage or Dreamweaver, instead of writing your markup tags in a plain text file.
However, if you want to be a skillful Web developer, we strongly recommend that you use a plain text editor to learn your primer HTML.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: After I have edited an HTML file, I cannot view the result in my browser. Why?
A: Make sure that you have saved the file with a proper name and extension like "c:\mypage.htm". Also make sure that you use the same name when you open the file in your browser.
Q: I have edited an HTML file, but the changes don't show in the browser. Why?
A: A browser caches pages so it doesn't have to read the same page twice. When you have modified a page, the browser doesn't know that. Use the browser's refresh/reload button to force the browser to reload the page.
Q: What browser should I use?
A: You can do all the training with all of the well-known browsers, like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, or Opera. However, some of the examples in our advanced classes require the latest versions of the browsers.
Q: Does my computer have to run Windows? What about a Mac?
A: You can do all your training on a non-Windows computer like a Mac.
HTML documents are text files made up of HTML elements.
HTML elements are defined using HTML tags.
HTML Tags
- HTML tags are used to mark-up HTML elements
- HTML tags are surrounded by the two characters <>
- The surrounding characters are called angle brackets
- HTML tags normally come in pairs like and
- The first tag in a pair is the start tag, the second tag is the end tag
- The text between the start and end tags is the element content
- HTML tags are not case sensitive, means the same as
HTML Elements
Remember the HTML example from the previous page:
|
This is an HTML element:
This text is bold |
The HTML element starts with a start tag:
The content of the HTML element is: This text is bold
The HTML element ends with an end tag:
The purpose of the tag is to define an HTML element that should be displayed as bold.
This is also an HTML element:
|
This HTML element starts with the start tag
, and ends with the end tag .The purpose of the
tag is to define the HTML element that contains the body of the HTML document.Why do We Use Lowercase Tags?
We have just said that HTML tags are not case sensitive: means the same as . If you surf the Web, you will notice that plenty of web sites use uppercase HTML tags in their source code. We always use lowercase tags. Why?
If you want to follow the latest web standards, you should always use lowercase tags. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends lowercase tags in their HTML 4 recommendation, and XHTML (the next generation HTML) demands lowercase tags.
Tag Attributes
Tags can have attributes. Attributes provide additional information to an HTML element.The following tag defines an HTML table:
|
HTML automatically adds an extra blank line before and after a heading.
Paragraphs
Paragraphs are defined with the
tag.
|
HTML automatically adds an extra blank line before and after a paragraph.
Line Breaks
The
tag is used when you want to end a line, but don't want to start a new paragraph. The
tag forces a line break wherever you place it.
|
The
tag is an empty tag. It has no closing tag.
Comments in HTML
The comment tag is used to insert a comment in the HTML source code. A comment will be ignored by the browser. You can use comments to explain your code, which can help you when you edit the source code at a later date.
Note that you need an exclamation point after the opening bracket, but not before the closing bracket.
Basic Notes - Useful Tips
When you write HTML text, you can never be sure how the text is displayed in another browser. Some people have large computer displays, some have small. The text will be reformatted every time the user resizes his window. Never try to format the text in your editor by adding empty lines and spaces to the text.
HTML will truncate the spaces in your text. Any number of spaces count as one. Some extra information: In HTML a new line counts as one space.
Using empty paragraphs
to insert blank lines is a bad habit. Use the
tag instead. (But don't use the
tag to create lists. Wait until you have learned about HTML lists.)
You might have noticed that paragraphs can be written without the closing tag
. Don't rely on it. The next version of HTML will not allow you to skip ANY closing tags.HTML automatically adds an extra blank line before and after some elements, like before and after a paragraph, and before and after a heading.
We use a horizontal rule (the
tag), to separate the sections in our tutorials.
More Examples
More paragraphs
This example demonstrates some of the default behaviors of paragraph elements.
Line breaks
This example demonstrates the use of line breaks in an HTML document.
Poem problems
This example demonstrates some problems with HTML formatting.
Headings
This example demonstrates the tags that display headings in an HTML document.
Center aligned heading
This example demonstrates a center aligned heading.
Horizontal rule
This example demonstrates how to insert a horizontal rule.
Hidden comments
This example demonstrates how to insert a hidden comment in the HTML source code.
Background color
This example demonstrates adding a background-color to an HTML page.
Basic HTML Tags
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| Defines an HTML document | |
| Defines the document's body | |
to | Defines header 1 to header 6 |
| Defines a paragraph | |
| Inserts a single line break | |
| Defines a horizontal rule | |
| Defines a comment |
HTML defines a lot of elements for formatting output, like bold or italic text.
Below are a lot of examples that you can try out yourself:
html text format:-
This text is bold
This text is strong
This text is big
This text is emphasized
This text is italic
This text is small
This text contains
subscript
This text contains
superscript
Preformatted text
This is
preformatted text.
It preserves both spaces
and line breaks.
The pre tag is good for displaying computer code:
for i = 1 to 10
print i
next i
Computer out put tags
This is
preformatted text.
It preserves both spaces
and line breaks.The pre tag is good for displaying computer code:
for i = 1 to 10
print i
next i
This is
preformatted text.
It preserves both spaces
and line breaks.
Adress
Donald Duck
BOX 555
Disneyland
USA
Donald Duck
BOX 555
Disneyland
USA
abrivation and acronimus
UN
WWWThe title attribute is used to show the spelled-out version when holding the mouse pointer over the acronym or abbreviation.
This only works for the acronym element in IE 5.
This works for both the abbr and acronym element in Netscape 6.2.
UN
WWW
The title attribute is used to show the spelled-out version when holding the mouse pointer over the acronym or abbreviation.
This only works for the acronym element in IE 5.
This works for both the abbr and acronym element in Netscape 6.2.
Text directions:-
If your browser supports bi-directional override (bdo), the next line will be written from the right to the left (rtl):
Here is some Hebrew text
If your browser supports bi-directional override (bdo), the next line will be written from the right to the left (rtl):
Here is some Hebrew textquations:-
Here comes a long quotation:
This is a long quotation. This is a long quotation. This is a long quotation. This is a long quotation. This is a long quotation.
Here comes a short quotation:
This is a short quotation
With the block quote element, the browser inserts line breaks and margins, but the q element does not render as anything special.
Here comes a long quotation:
This is a long quotation. This is a long quotation. This is a long quotation. This is a long quotation. This is a long quotation.Here comes a short quotation:
This is a short quotation
With the block quote element, the browser inserts line breaks and margins, but the q element does not render as anything special.
Deleted and inserted text:-
a dozen istwenty
twelve
pieces
Most browsers will overstrike deleted text and underline inserted text.
Some older browsers will display deleted or inserted text as plain text.
a dozen is twenty twelve pieces
Most browsers will overstrike deleted text and underline inserted text.
Some older browsers will display deleted or inserted text as plain text.
How to View HTML Source
Have you ever seen a Web page and wondered "Hey! How did they do that?"
To find out, click the VIEW option in your browser's toolbar and select SOURCE or PAGE SOURCE. This will open a window that shows you the HTML code of the page.
Text Formatting Tags
"Computer Output" Tags
Citations, Quotations, and Definition Tags
Some characters like the <>
To display a less than sign (<) in HTML, we have to use a character entity.
Character Entities
Some characters have a special meaning in HTML, like the less than sign (<) that defines the start of an HTML tag. If we want the browser to actually display these characters we must insert character entities in the HTML source.
A character entity has three parts: an ampersand (&), an entity name or a # and an entity number, and finally a semicolon (;).
To display a less than sign in an HTML document we must write: < or <
The advantage of using a name instead of a number is that a name is easier to remember. The disadvantage is that not all browsers support the newest entity names, while the support for entity numbers is very good in almost all browsers.
Note that the entities are case sensitive.
This example lets you experiment with character entities: Character Entities
Non-breaking Space
The most common character entity in HTML is the non-breaking space.
Normally HTML will truncate spaces in your text. If you write 10 spaces in your text HTML will remove 9 of them. To add spaces to your text, use the character entity.
The Most Common Character Entities:
| Result | Description | Entity Name | Entity Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| non-breaking space | |||
| < | less than | < | < |
| > | greater than | > | > |
| & | ampersand | & | & |
| " | quotation mark | " | " |
| ' | apostrophe | ' (does not work in IE) | ' |
Some Other Commonly Used Character Entities:
| Result | Description | Entity Name | Entity Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¢ | cent | ¢ | ¢ |
| £ | pound | £ | £ |
| ¥ | yen | ¥ | ¥ |
| € | euro | € | € |
| § | section | § | § |
| © | copyright | © | © |
| ® | registered trademark | ® | ® |
| × | multiplication | × | × |
| ÷ | division | ÷ | ÷ |
HTML uses a hyperlink to link to another document on the Web.
Examples
Create hyperlinks
This example demonstrates how to create links in an HTML document.
An image as a link
This example demonstrates how to use an image as a link.
(You can find more examples at the bottom of this page)
The Anchor Tag and the Href Attribute
HTML uses the (anchor) tag to create a link to another document.
An anchor can point to any resource on the Web: an HTML page, an image, a sound file, a movie, etc.
The syntax of creating an anchor:
Text to be displayed
The tag is used to create an anchor to link from, the href attribute is used to address the document to link to, and the words between the open and close of the anchor tag will be displayed as a hyperlink.
This anchor defines a link to W3Schools:
Visit W3Schools!
The line above will look like this in a browser:
Visit W3Schools!
The Target Attribute
With the target attribute, you can define where the linked document will be opened.
The line below will open the document in a new browser window:
target="_blank">Visit W3Schools!
The Anchor Tag and the Name Attribute
The name attribute is used to create a named anchor. When using named anchors we can create links that can jump directly into a specific section on a page, instead of letting the user scroll around to find what he/she is looking for.
Below is the syntax of a named anchor:
Text to be displayed
The name attribute is used to create a named anchor. The name of the anchor can be any text you care to use.
The line below defines a named anchor:
Useful Tips Section
You should notice that a named anchor is not displayed in a special way.
To link directly to the "tips" section, add a # sign and the name of the anchor to the end of a URL, like this:
Jump to the Useful Tips Section
A hyperlink to the Useful Tips Section from WITHIN the file "html_links.asp" will look like this:
Jump to the Useful Tips Section
Basic Notes - Useful Tips
Always add a trailing slash to subfolder references. If you link like this: href="http://www.w3schools.com/html", you will generate two HTTP requests to the server, because the server will add a slash to the address and create a new request like this: href="http://www.w3schools.com/html/"
Named anchors are often used to create "table of contents" at the beginning of a large document. Each chapter within the document is given a named anchor, and links to each of these anchors are put at the top of the document.
If a browser cannot find a named anchor that has been specified, it goes to the top of the document. No error occurs.
More Examples
open link in new browser windowLast Page
If you set the target attribute of a link to "_blank",
the link will open in a new window.
If you set the target attribute of a link to "_blank", the link will open in a new window.
link to Locate on same window:-
Chapter 1
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 2
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 3
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 4
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 5
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 6
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 1
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 2
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 3
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 4
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 5
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 6
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 7
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 8
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 9
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 10
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 11
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 12
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 13
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 14
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 15
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 16
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Chapter 17
This chapter explains ba bla bla
Break out of aframe:-
Locked in a frame?
target="_top">Click here!
create amilto link:-
This is a mail link:
Send Mail
Note: Spaces between words should be replaced by %20 to ensure that the browser will display your text properly.
create a milto link2
This is another mailto link:
Send mail!
Note: Spaces between words should be replaced by %20 to ensure that the browser will display your text properly.
With frames, you can display more than one Web page in the same browser window.
Examples
Vertical frameset
This example demonstrates how to make a vertical frameset with three different documents.
Horizontal frameset
This example demonstrates how to make a horizontal frameset with three different documents.
(You can find more examples at the bottom of this page)
Frames
With frames, you can display more than one HTML document in the same browser window. Each HTML document is called a frame, and each frame is independent of the others.
The disadvantages of using frames are:
- The web developer must keep track of more HTML documents
- It is difficult to print the entire page
The Frameset Tag
- The
- Each frameset defines a set of rows or columns
- The values of the rows/columns indicate the amount of screen area each row/column will occupy
The Frame Tag
- The tag defines what HTML document to put into each frame
In the example below we have a frameset with two columns. The first column is set to 25% of the width of the browser window. The second column is set to 75% of the width of the browser window. The HTML document "frame_a.htm" is put into the first column, and the HTML document "frame_b.htm" is put into the second column:
Note: The frameset column size value can also be set in pixels (cols="200,500"), and one of the columns can be set to use the remaining space (cols="25%,*").
Basic Notes - Useful Tips
If a frame has visible borders, the user can resize it by dragging the border. To prevent a user from doing this, you can add noresize="noresize" to the tag.
Add the
Important: You cannot use the
tags together with the tags! However, if you add a