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The title global attribute contains a text representing advisory information related to the element it belongs to. Such information can typically, but not necessarily, be presented to the user as a tooltip. Here are some typical uses of this attribute:
- Link: the title or a description of the linked document
- Media element like an image: a description or associated credits
- Paragraph: a footnote or a commentary about it
- Quotation: some information about the author, and so on.
If this attribute is omitted, it means that the title of the nearest ancestor of this element is still relevant for it (and can legitimately be used as the tooltip for that element). If this attribute is set to the empty string, it explicitly means that its nearest ancestor's title is not relevant for this element (and shouldn't be used in the tooltip for that element).
Additional semantics are attached to the title attributes of the <link>
, <abbr>
, <input>
and <menuitem>
elements.
The title attribute may contains several lines. Each U+000A LINE FEED
(LF
) inserted represents such a newline. Some caution must be taken though, as that means that:
<p>Newlines in title should be taken into account,like this <abbr title="This is a multiline title">example</abbr>.</p>
defines a two-line title.
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
WHATWG HTML Living Standard The definition of 'title' in that specification. |
Living Standard | No change from latest snapshot, HTML5.1 |
HTML5.1 The definition of 'title' in that specification. |
Working Draft | Snapshot of WHATWG HTML Living Standard, no change from HTML5 |
HTML5 The definition of 'title' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Snapshot of WHATWG HTML Living Standard. From HTML 4.01 Specification, it is now a true global attribute. |
HTML 4.01 Specification The definition of 'title' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Supported on all elements but <base> , <basefont> , <head> , <html> , <meta> , <param> , <script> , and <title> . |
Browser compatibility
Feature | Chrome | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
Multi-line support | (Yes) | 12 (12) | (Yes) | ? | ? |
Feature | Android | Chrome for Android | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Mobile | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
Multi-line support | ? | ? | 12.0 (12) | ? | ? | ? |
See also
- All global attributes.
HTMLElement.title
that reflects this attribute.