<area>: The Image Map Area element
The <area>
HTML element defines an area inside an image map that has predefined clickable areas. An image map allows geometric areas on an image to be associated with hypertext links.
This element is used only within a <map>
element.
Try it
Attributes
This element's attributes include the global attributes.
alt
-
A text string alternative to display on browsers that do not display images. The text should be phrased so that it presents the user with the same kind of choice as the image would offer when displayed without the alternative text. This attribute is required only if the
href
attribute is used. coords
-
The
coords
attribute details the coordinates of theshape
attribute in size, shape, and placement of an<area>
. This attribute must not be used ifshape
is set todefault
.-
rect
: the value isx1,y1,x2,y2
. The value specifies the coordinates of the top-left and bottom-right corner of the rectangle. For example, in<area shape="rect" coords="0,0,253,27" href="#" target="_blank" alt="Mozilla">
the coordinates are0,0
and253,27
, indicating the top-left and bottom-right corners of the rectangle, respectively. -
circle
: the value isx,y,radius
. Value specifies the coordinates of the circle center and the radius. For example:<area shape="circle" coords="130,136,60" href="#" target="_blank" alt="MDN">
-
poly
: the value isx1,y1,x2,y2,..,xn,yn
. Value specifies the coordinates of the edges of the polygon. If the first and last coordinate pairs are not the same, the browser will add the last coordinate pair to close the polygon
The values are numbers of CSS pixels.
-
download
-
This attribute, if present, indicates that the author intends the hyperlink to be used for downloading a resource. See
<a>
for a full description of thedownload
attribute. href
-
The hyperlink target for the area. Its value is a valid URL. This attribute may be omitted; if so, the
<area>
element does not represent a hyperlink. hreflang
Deprecated-
Indicates the language of the linked resource. Allowed values are defined by RFC 5646: Tags for Identifying Languages (also known as BCP 47). Use this attribute only if the
href
attribute is present. ping
-
Contains a space-separated list of URLs to which, when the hyperlink is followed,
POST
requests with the bodyPING
will be sent by the browser (in the background). Typically used for tracking. referrerpolicy
-
A string indicating which referrer to use when fetching the resource:
no-referrer
: TheReferer
header will not be sent.no-referrer-when-downgrade
: TheReferer
header will not be sent to origins without TLS (HTTPS).origin
: The sent referrer will be limited to the origin of the referring page: its scheme, host, and port.origin-when-cross-origin
: The referrer sent to other origins will be limited to the scheme, the host, and the port. Navigations on the same origin will still include the path.same-origin
: A referrer will be sent for same origin, but cross-origin requests will contain no referrer information.strict-origin
: Only send the origin of the document as the referrer when the protocol security level stays the same (HTTPS→HTTPS), but don't send it to a less secure destination (HTTPS→HTTP).strict-origin-when-cross-origin
(default): Send a full URL when performing a same-origin request, only send the origin when the protocol security level stays the same (HTTPS→HTTPS), and send no header to a less secure destination (HTTPS→HTTP).-
unsafe-url
: The referrer will include the origin and the path (but not the fragment, password, or username). This value is unsafe, because it leaks origins and paths from TLS-protected resources to insecure origins.
rel
-
For anchors containing the
href
attribute, this attribute specifies the relationship of the target object to the link object. The value is a space-separated list of link types. The values and their semantics will be registered by some authority that might have meaning to the document author. The default relationship, if no other is given, is void. Use this attribute only if thehref
attribute is present. shape
-
The shape of the associated hot spot. The specifications for HTML defines the values
rect
, which defines a rectangular region;circle
, which defines a circular region;poly
, which defines a polygon; anddefault
, which indicates the entire region beyond any defined shapes. target
-
A keyword or author-defined name of the browsing context to display the linked resource. The following keywords have special meanings:
_self
(default): Show the resource in the current browsing context._blank
: Show the resource in a new, unnamed browsing context.-
_parent
: Show the resource in the parent browsing context of the current one, if the current page is inside a frame. If there is no parent, acts the same as_self
. -
_top
: Show the resource in the topmost browsing context (the browsing context that is an ancestor of the current one and has no parent). If there is no parent, acts the same as_self
.
Use this attribute only if the
href
attribute is present.Note: Setting
target="_blank"
on<area>
elements implicitly provides the samerel
behavior as settingrel="noopener"
which does not setwindow.opener
. See browser compatibility for support status.
Deprecated attributes
name
Deprecated-
Define a names for the clickable area so that it can be scripted by older browsers.
nohref
Deprecated-
Indicates that no hyperlink exists for the associated area.
Note: The
nohref
attribute is not necessary, as omitting thehref
attribute is sufficient. type
Deprecated-
Hint for the type of the referenced resource. Ignored by browsers.
Examples
html
<map name="primary">
<area
shape="circle"
coords="75,75,75"
href="left.html"
alt="Click to go Left" />
<area
shape="circle"
coords="275,75,75"
href="right.html"
alt="Click to go Right" />
</map>
<img
usemap="#primary"
src="https://via.placeholder.com/350x150"
alt="350 x 150 pic" />
Result
Technical summary
Content categories | Flow content, phrasing content. |
---|---|
Permitted content | None; it is a void element. |
Tag omission | Must have a start tag and must not have an end tag. |
Permitted parents | Any element that accepts phrasing content. The <area> element must have an ancestor <map> , but it need not be a direct parent. |
Implicit ARIA role | link when href attribute is present, otherwise no corresponding role |
Permitted ARIA roles | No role permitted |
DOM interface | HTMLAreaElement |
Specifications
Specification |
---|
HTML Standard # the-area-element |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser