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| Syntax | This element uses separate opening and closing tags.<pre>...</pre> |
|---|---|
| Usage | The <pre> tag is used to specify that the text, located between the opening and closing <pre> tags, is preformatted. The text should be displayed without altering whitespace characters. For example, multiple spaces and line breaks should be preserved. A mono spaced font, like courier, is also used. HTML & XHTML <pre> tag example. <pre> Month Days ______________ January 31 February 28 or 29 March 31 April 30 </pre>   |
| Content Model | The <pre> element can contain the following tags, and Text, between its opening and closing tags. <a>
<abbr>
<acronym>
<b>
<bdo>
<br>
<button>
<cite>
<code>
<del>
<dfn>
<em>
<i>
<iframe>1
<input>
<ins>
<kbd>
<label>
<map>2
<q>
<s>
<samp>
<script>
<select>
<span>
<strike>
<strong>
<textarea>
<tt>
<u>
<var>
Notes:1. The <pre> element can contain the <iframe> tag when using HTML DTD Transitional and Frameset documents but not Strict documents. The <pre> element cannot contain the <iframe> tag when using XHTML documents. 2. The <pre> element cannot contain the <map> tag when using XHTML DTD Transitional or Frameset documents. 3. The <pre> element can contain the <big>, <small>, <sub>, and <sup> tags when using XHTML DTD Strict documents. However, these four tags are possibly only allowed as the result of an error in the XHTML version 1.0 Strict DTD. Therefore, it would be advisable to avoid using these four tags inside of the <pre> element. 4. Red tags have been deprecated and are allowed in DTD Transitional and Frameset documents but not Strict documents. |
| Required | Tag Specific | Core | Focus | Events | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width xml:space1 | id class style title | onclick ondblclick onkeydown onkeypress onkeyup onmousedown onmousemove onmouseout onmouseover onmouseup | dir lang xml:lang1 | ||
| Notes: 1. XHTML only. | |||||
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| width | The width attribute specifies the number of characters per line. <pre> tag example using the width attribute. <pre width="10">This sample uses the preformatted text tag</pre>Note: This attribute has been deprecated. |
| xml:space | The xml:space attribute is used to specify that whitespace should be preserved. <pre> tag example using the xml:space attribute. <pre xml:space="preserve">
This sample uses the preformatted text tag</pre>Note: XHTML only. |
| id | The id attribute assigns a unique name to a tag. This allows style sheets or scripts to reference the tag. See id Example |
| class | The class attribute assigns a class name to a tag. The class name does not need to be unique. More than one tag can have the same class name. This allows style sheets or scripts to reference multiple tags with a single class name. See class Example |
| style | The style attribute specifies styles for the tag. For Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), the syntax is name:value. Each name:value pair is separated by semicolons. See style Example |
| title | The title attribute specifies additional information about the tag. It is common for browsers to display the title when the pointing device stops over the object. See title Example |
| onclick | The onclick attribute specifies a script to be run when the object is clicked with a mouse or other pointing device. See onclick Example |
| ondblclick | The ondblclick attribute specifies a script to be run when the object is double clicked with a mouse or other pointing device. See ondblclick Example |
| onkeydown | The onkeydown attribute specifies a script to be run when a key is pressed down. See onkeydown Example |
| onkeypress | The onkeypress attribute specifies a script to be run when a key is pressed and released. See onkeypress Example |
| onkeyup | The onkeyup attribute specifies a script to be run when a key is released. See onkeyup Example |
| onmousedown | The onmousedown attribute specifies a script to be run when the mouse button, or other pointing device button, is pressed while over the object. See onmousedown Example |
| onmousemove | The onmousemove attribute specifies a script to be run when the mouse, or other pointing device, is moved while it is over the object. See onmousemove Example |
| onmouseout | The onmouseout attribute specifies a script to be run when the mouse, or other pointing device, is moved away from an object after being over it. See onmouseout Example |
| onmouseover | The onmouseover attribute specifies a script to be run when the mouse, or other pointing device, is moved onto the object. See onmouseover Example |
| onmouseup | The onmouseup attribute specifies a script to be run when the mouse button, or other pointing device button, is released while over the object. See onmouseup Example |
| dir | The dir attribute tells the browser whether the text should be displayed from left-to-right or right-to-left. It does not reverse the direction of the characters, like the <bdo> tag does, but it can help the browser to determine if the text should be aligned on the left side or the right side. See dir Example |
| lang | The lang attribute specifies a language. This attribute can help the browser to correctly display text. This attribute can also be useful for braille translation software, speech synthesizers, dictionary definitions, etc. See lang Example |
| xml:lang | The xml:lang attribute specifies a language for XHTML documents. This attribute can help the browser to correctly display text. This attribute can also be useful for braille translation software, speech synthesizers, dictionary definitions, etc. See xml:lang Example Note: XHTML only. |
| <pre> tag example. |