logo HTML Cheat Sheet



HTML Cheat Sheet
Forget what some of the tags in HTML do? No worries: Here's a quick reference guide to help you. Print it out and tape it to your computer or your friend's head.

Basic Tags
<html></html>
Creates an HTML document
<head></head>
Sets off the title and other information that isn't displayed on the Web page itself
<body></body>
Sets off the visible portion of the document
Header Tags
<title></title>
Puts the name of the document in the title bar
Body Attributes
<body bgcolor=?>
Sets the background color, using name or hex value
<body text=?>
Sets the text color, using name or hex value
<body link=?>
Sets the color of links, using name or hex value
<body vlink=?>
Sets the color of followed links, using name or hex value
<body alink=?>
Sets the color of links on click
Text Tags
<pre></pre>
Creates preformatted text
<h1></h1>
Creates the largest headline
<h6></h6>
Creates the smallest headline
<b></b>
Creates bold text
<i></i>
Creates italic text
<tt></tt>
Creates teletype, or typewriter-style text
<cite></cite>
Creates a citation, usually italic
<em></em>
Emphasizes a word (with italic or bold)
<strong></strong>
Emphasizes a word (with italic or bold)
<font size=?></font>
Sets size of font, from 1 to 7
<font color=?></font>
Sets font color, using name or hex value
Links
<a href="URL"></a>
Creates a hyperlink
<a href="mailto:EMAIL"></a>
Creates a mailto link
<a name="NAME"></a>
Creates a target location within a document
<a href="#NAME"></a>
Links to that target location from elsewhere in the document
Formatting
<p>
Creates a new paragraph
<p align=?>
Aligns a paragraph to the left, right, or center
<br>
Inserts a line break
<blockquote></blockquote>
Indents text from both sides
<dl></dl>
Creates a definition list
<dt>
Precedes each definition term
<dd>
Precedes each definition
<ol></ol>
Creates a numbered list
<li>
Precedes each list item and adds a number
<ul></ul>
Creates a bulleted list
<li>
Precedes each list item and adds the bullet
<div align=?>
A generic tag used to format large blocks of HTML; also used for stylesheets
Graphical Elements
<img src="name">
Adds an image
<img src="name" align=?>
Aligns an image: left, right, center, bottom, top, middle
<img src="name" border=?>
Sets size of border around an image
<hr>
Inserts a horizontal rule
<hr size=?>
Sets size (height) of rule
<hr width=?>
Sets width of rule in percentage or absolute value
<hr noshade>
Creates a rule without a shadow
Tables
<table></table>
Creates a table
<tr></tr>
Sets off each row in a table
<td></td>
Sets off each cell in a row
<th></th>
Sets off the table header (a normal cell with bold, centered text)
Table Attributes
<table border=#>
Sets width of border around table cells
<table cellspacing=#>
Sets amount of space between table cells
<table cellpadding=#>
Sets amount of space between a cell's border and its contents
<table width=# or %>
Sets width of table in pixels or as a percentage of document width
<tr align=?> or <td align=?>
Sets alignment for cell(s) (left, center, or right)
<tr valign=?> or <td valign=?>
Sets vertical alignment for cell(s) (top, middle, or bottom)
<td colspan=#>
Sets number of columns a cell should span (default=1)
<td rowspan=#>
Sets number of rows a cell should span (default=1)
<td nowrap>
Prevents the lines within a cell from being broken to fit
Frames
<frameset></frameset>
Precedes the <body> tag in a frames document; can also be nested in other framesets
<frameset rows="value,value">
Defines the rows within a frameset, using number in pixels or percentage of width
<frameset cols="value,value">
Defines the columns within a frameset, using number in pixels or percentage of width
<frame>
Defines a single frame within a frameset
<noframes></noframes>
Defines what will appear on browsers that don't support frames
Frames Attributes
<frame src="URL">
Specifies which HTML document should be displayed
<frame name="name">
Names the frame so it may be targeted by other frames
<frame marginwidth=#>
Defines the left and right margins for the frame; must be equal to or greater than 1
<frame marginheight=#>
Defines the top and bottom margins for the frame; must be equal to or greater than 1
<frame scrolling=VALUE>
Sets whether the frame has a scroll bar; value may equal "yes," "no," or "auto." (The default, as in ordinary documents, is auto.)
<frame noresize>
Prevents the user from resizing a frame
Forms
For functional forms, you'll have to run a CGI script. The HTML just creates the appearance of a form.
<form></form>
Creates all forms
<select multiple name="NAME" size=?></select>
Creates a scrolling menu. Size sets the number of menu items visible before you need to scroll.
<option>
Sets off each menu item
<select name="NAME"></select>
Creates a pulldown menu
<option>
Sets off each menu item
<textarea name="NAME" cols=40 rows=8></textarea>
Creates a text box area - columns set the width; rows set the height.
<input type="checkbox" name="NAME">
Creates a checkbox - text follows tag.
<input type="radio" name="NAME" value="x">
Creates a radio button - text follows tag
<input type=text name="foo" size=20>
Creates a one-line text area - size sets length in characters.
<input type="submit" value="NAME">
Creates a Submit button
<input type="image" border=0 name="NAME" src="name.gif">
Creates a Submit button using an image
<input type="reset">
Creates a Reset button