Example
An abbreviation is marked up as follows:The <abbr title="World Health Organization">WHO</abbr> was founded in 1948.
Definition and Usage
The <abbr> tag describes an abbreviated phrase.
By marking up abbreviations you can give useful information to browsers, spellcheckers, screen readers, translation systems and search-engines.
Browser Support
The tag is supported in all major browsers.
Note: The tag is not supported in IE 6 or earlier versions.
The tag is supported in all major browsers.
Note: The tag is not supported in IE 6 or earlier versions.
Differences Between HTML and XHTML
NONE
Tips and Notes
Tip: The title attribute is used to show the full version of the expression when you mouse over the abbreviation.
Standard Attributes
DTD indicates in which HTML 4.01/XHTML 1.0 DTD the attribute is allowed. S=Strict, T=Transitional, and F=Frameset.
The tag supports the following standard attributes:
| Attribute | Value | Description | DTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| class | classname | Specifies a classname for an element | STF |
| dir | rtl ltr | Specifies the text direction for the content in an element | STF |
| id | id | Specifies a unique id for an element | STF |
| lang | language_code | Specifies a language code for the content in an element | STF |
| style | style_definition | Specifies an inline style for an element | STF |
| title | text | Specifies extra information about an element | STF |
| xml:lang | language_code | Specifies a language code for the content in an element, in XHTML documents | STF |
More information about Standard Attributes.
Event Attributes
The <abbr> tag supports the following event attributes:
| Attribute | Value | Description | DTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| onclick | script | Script to be run on a mouse click | STF |
| ondblclick | script | Script to be run on a mouse double-click | STF |
| onmousedown | script | Script to be run when mouse button is pressed | STF |
| onmousemove | script | Script to be run when mouse pointer moves | STF |
| onmouseout | script | Script to be run when mouse pointer moves out of an element | STF |
| onmouseover | script | Script to be run when mouse pointer moves over an element | STF |
| onmouseup | script | Script to be run when mouse button is released | STF |
| onkeydown | script | Script to be run when a key is pressed | STF |
| onkeypress | script | Script to be run when a key is pressed and released | STF |
| onkeyup | script | Script to be run when a key is released | STF |
More information about Event Attributes.
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