HTML 5 <meter> Tag
The HTML <meter> tag is used for indicating a scalar measurement within a known range, or a fractional value.
Also known as a gauge, usage could include displaying disk usage, the amount raised during fundraising activities, or the relevance of a search query result.
It is important to note that the <meter> element is used to represent a range. It is not appropriate to use this element for representing a single number (such as how many children someone has) unless there is a known maximum number.
The <meter> tag was introduced in HTML 5.
Example
The following examples demonstrate various uses of the <meter> tag.
- Example 1 demonstrates different ways of representing 25 percent (of whatever is being measured).
- Example 2 demonstrates how to use the
titleattribute to specify the units being measured. (Note that there is no way of explicitly specifying units with the<meter>tag). This example also uses a definition list to present the data.
Attributes
HTML tags can contain one or more attributes. Attributes are added to a tag to provide the browser with more information about how the tag should appear or behave. Attributes consist of a name and a value separated by an equals (=) sign, with the value surrounded by double quotes. Here's an example, style="color:black;".
There are 3 kinds of attributes that you can add to your HTML tags: Element-specific, global, and event handler content attributes.
The attributes that you can add to this tag are listed below.
Element-Specific Attributes
The following table shows the attributes that are specific to this tag/element.
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| value | Specifies the "measured" value. |
| min | Specifies the lower bound of the range. Default is 0. |
| low | Specifies the range that is considered to be a "low" value. |
| high | Specifies the range that is considered to be a "high" value. |
| max | Specifies the upper bound of the range. Default is 1. |
| optimum | Specifies the value that is considered to be the "optimum", or best, value. If this value is higher than the "high" value then it indicates that the higher the value, the better. If it's lower than the "low" mark then it indicates that lower values are better. If it is in between then it indicates that neither high nor low values are good. |
Global Attributes
The following attributes are standard across all HTML 5 tags.
| accesskey | draggable | style |
| class | hidden | tabindex |
| contenteditable | id | title |
| contextmenu | lang | |
| dir | spellcheck |
For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.
Event Handler Content Attributes
Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain "event" occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.
Here are the standard HTML 5 event handler content attributes.
| onabort | onerror* | onmousewheel |
| onblur* | onfocus* | onpause |
| oncanplay | onformchange | onplay |
| oncanplaythrough | onforminput | onplaying |
| onchange | oninput | onprogress |
| onclick | oninvalid | onratechange |
| oncontextmenu | onkeydown | onreadystatechange |
| ondblclick | onkeypress | onscroll |
| ondrag | onkeyup | onseeked |
| ondragend | onload* | onseeking |
| ondragenter | onloadeddata | onselect |
| ondragleave | onloadedmetadata | onshow |
| ondragover | onloadstart | onstalled |
| ondragstart | onmousedown | onsubmit |
| ondrop | onmousemove | onsuspend |
| ondurationchange | onmouseout | ontimeupdate |
| onemptied | onmouseover | onvolumechange |
| onended | onmouseup | onwaiting |
For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 event handler content attributes.