The HTML <embed>
element embeds external content at the specified point in the document. This content is provided by an external application or other source of interactive content such as a browser plug-in.
The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.
Note: This topic documents only the element that is defined as part of HTML5. It does not address earlier, non-standardized implementation of the element.
Keep in mind that most modern browsers have deprecated and removed support for browser plug-ins, so relying upon <embed>
is generally not wise if you want your site to be operable on the average user's browser.
Content categories | Flow content, phrasing content, embedded content, interactive content, palpable 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 embedded content. |
Implicit ARIA role | No corresponding role |
Permitted ARIA roles | application , document , img , none , presentation
|
DOM interface | HTMLEmbedElement
|
Attributes
This element's attributes include the global attributes.
height
- The displayed height of the resource, in CSS pixels. This must be an absolute value; percentages are not allowed.
src
- The URL of the resource being embedded.
type
- The MIME type to use to select the plug-in to instantiate.
width
- The displayed width of the resource, in CSS pixels. This must be an absolute value; percentages are not allowed.
Usage notes
You can use the object-position
property to adjust the positioning of the embedded object within the element's frame, and the object-fit
property to control how the object's size is adjusted to fit within the frame.
Examples
<embed type="video/quicktime" src="movie.mov" width="640" height="480" title="Title of my video">
Accessibility concerns
Use the title
attribute on an embed
element to label its content so that people navigating with assistive technology such as a screen reader can understand what it contains. The title's value should concisely describe the embedded content. Without a title, they may not be able to determine what its embedded content is. This context shift can be confusing and time-consuming, especially if the embed
element contains interactive content like video or audio.
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
HTML Living StandardThe definition of '<embed>' in that specification. | Living Standard | |
HTML5The definition of '<embed>' in that specification. | Recommendation |
Browser compatibility
Note: Prior to version 45, Firefox did not display content of HTML resource, but a generic message saying the content needs a plug-in (see bug 730768).
The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
Update compatibility data on GitHub
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
embed
|
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
? |
Safari iOS
? |
Samsung Internet Android
Full support Yes |
height
|
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
? |
Safari iOS
? |
Samsung Internet Android
Full support Yes |
src
|
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
? |
Safari iOS
? |
Samsung Internet Android
Full support Yes |
type
|
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
? |
Safari iOS
? |
Samsung Internet Android
Full support Yes |
width
|
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
? |
Safari iOS
? |
Samsung Internet Android
Full support Yes |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- Compatibility unknown
- Compatibility unknown
See also
- Other elements that are used for embedding content of various types include
<audio>
,<canvas>
,<iframe>
,<img>
,<math>
,<object>
,<svg>
, and<video>
. - Positioning and sizing the embedded content within its frame:
object-position
andobject-fit
<embed>: The Embed External Content element by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.