Web/HTML/Element/area

From Get docs


The HTML <area> 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 link.

This element is used only within a <map> element.


Content categories Flow content, phrasing content.
Permitted content None, it is an empty 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

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 the shape attribute in size, shape, and placement of an <area>.
  • rect: the value is x1,y1,x2,y2. Value specifies the coordinates of the top-left and bottom-right corner of the rectangle. For example: <area shape="rect" coords="0,0,253,27" href="#" target="_blank" alt="Mozilla"> The coords in the above example specify: 0,0 as the top-left corner and 253,27 as the bottom-right corner of the rectangle.
  • circle: the value is x,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 is x1,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
  • default: defines the entire region
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 the download 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
Indicates the language of the linked resource. Allowed values are determined by BCP47. 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 body PING 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" meaning that the Referer: header will not be sent.
  • "no-referrer-when-downgrade" meaning that no Referer: header will be sent when navigating to an origin without TLS (HTTPS). This is a user agent’s default behavior, if no policy is otherwise specified.
  • "origin" meaning that the referrer will be the origin of the page, that is roughly the scheme, the host and the port.
  • "origin-when-cross-origin" meaning that navigations to other origins will be limited to the scheme, the host and the port, while navigations on the same origin will include the referrer's path.
  • "unsafe-url" meaning that the referrer will include the origin and the path (but not the fragment, password, or username). This case is unsafe because it can leak 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 values. 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 the href 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; and default, which indicates the entire region beyond any defined shapes.
Many browsers, notably Internet Explorer 4 and higher, support circ, polygon, and rectangle as valid values for shape, but these values are non-standard.
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: In newer browser versions (e.g. Firefox 79+) setting target="_blank" on <area> elements implicitly provides the same rel behavior as setting rel="noopener".

Deprecated attributes

name '
Define a names for the clickable area so that it can be scripted by older browsers.
nohref '
Indicates that no hyperlink exists for the associated area.

Note: Since HTML5, omitting the href attribute is sufficient.

tabindex '
A numeric value specifying the position of the defined area in the browser tabbing order. This attribute is global in HTML5.
type '
No effect. Browsers ignore it. (The W3C 5.3 fork of the HTML specification defines it as valid, but the canonical HTML specification doesn’t, and it has no effect in any user agents.)

Examples

<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="http://placehold.it/350x150" alt="350 x 150 pic">

Result

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Referrer PolicyThe definition of 'referrerpolicy attribute' in that specification. Candidate Recommendation Added the referrerpolicy attribute.
HTML Living StandardThe definition of '<area>' in that specification. Living Standard
HTML5The definition of '<area>' in that specification. Recommendation
HTML 4.01 SpecificationThe definition of '<area>' in that specification. Recommendation

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari Android webview Chrome for Android Firefox for Android Opera for Android Safari on iOS Samsung Internet
area Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

accesskey

Deprecated'

Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

alt Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

coords Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

download Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support Yes

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support Yes

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

href Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

hreflang

Deprecated'

Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support Yes

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support Yes

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

target="_blank" implies rel="noopener" behavior

Deprecated'

Chrome

No support No

Edge

No support No

Firefox

Full support 79

IE

No support No

Opera

No support No

Safari

Full support 12.1

WebView Android

No support No

Chrome Android

No support No

Firefox Android

Full support 79

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

No support No

media Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support Yes

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support Yes

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

name

Deprecated'

Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

nohref

Deprecated'

Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

referrerpolicy Chrome

Full support 51

Edge

Full support 79

Firefox

Full support 50

IE

No support No

Opera

Full support 38

Safari

Full support 11.1

WebView Android

Full support 51

Chrome Android

Full support 51

Firefox Android

Full support 50

Opera Android

Full support 41

Safari iOS

No support No

Samsung Internet Android

Full support 7.2

rel Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support Yes

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support Yes

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

shape Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

tabindex

Deprecated'

Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

target Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

type

Deprecated'

Chrome

Full support Yes

Edge

Full support 12

Firefox

Full support 1

IE

Full support Yes

Opera

Full support Yes

Safari

Full support Yes

WebView Android

Full support Yes

Chrome Android

Full support Yes

Firefox Android

Full support 4

Opera Android

Full support Yes

Safari iOS

Full support Yes

Samsung Internet Android

Full support Yes

Legend

Full support  
Full support
No support  
No support
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.'
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.


<area> by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.