HTML <map> Tag
The HTML <map>
tag is used for defining an image map.
Image maps are images that have clickable areas (sometimes referred to as "hot spots"). Each of these clickable areas can lead to a different location. Therefore, an image map could potentially have many links that lead to many different URLs.
The <map>
tag is used along with the <area>
and <img>
tags to define the image map.
To create an image map, you use the <map>
tag to declare the image map, and the <area>
tag (nested within the <map>
tag) to define the clickable areas. The <img>
tag can be defined elsewhere on the page, and is linked to the <map>
element using the name
attribute.
Syntax
The <map>
tag is typically written like this <map name="">
</map>
with the <area>
tag nested between the start and end tags. The name
attribute is used by any <img>
elements that use this particular image map.
Like this:
Examples
Maps
Geographical maps are a great candidate for applying an image map to. Using a graphic of a map, you can create clickable areas to indicate different geographical locations (eg, cities, provinces, or whole countries or continents).
The image below displays an image of two different countries. Each country is linked to a different URL. This is made possible by using an image map (i.e. <map>
in conjunction with the <area>
tag). The <img>
element references the image map by using the usemap
attribute. The value of the usemap
attribute must be the same as the value of the <map>
's name
attribute.
Basic Shapes
The above map example uses a shape of poly
to display a polygon. A polygon is more complex than a simple shape such as a rectangle or circle. You can specify a polygon using either polygon
or poly
as a value of the shape
attribute.
You can also use shape names to draw a rectangle (rectangle
or rect
) or a circle (circle
or circ
).
Below is an example of an image map consisting of a rectangle, circle, and a polygon.
Attributes
Attributes can be added to an HTML element to provide more information about how the element should appear or behave.
The <map>
element accepts the following attributes.
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
name | Assigns a name to the image map. Note that if the id attribute is also specified, it must contain the same value as the name attribute. |
Global Attributes
The following attributes are standard across all HTML elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <map>
tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.
accesskey
autocapitalize
class
contenteditable
data-*
dir
draggable
hidden
id
inputmode
is
itemid
itemprop
itemref
itemscope
itemtype
lang
part
slot
spellcheck
style
tabindex
title
translate
For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.
Event Handlers
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.
onabort
onauxclick
onblur
oncancel
oncanplay
oncanplaythrough
onchange
onclick
onclose
oncontextmenu
oncopy
oncuechange
oncut
ondblclick
ondrag
ondragend
ondragenter
ondragexit
ondragleave
ondragover
ondragstart
ondrop
ondurationchange
onemptied
onended
onerror
onfocus
onformdata
oninput
oninvalid
onkeydown
onkeypress
onkeyup
onlanguagechange
onload
onloadeddata
onloadedmetadata
onloadstart
onmousedown
onmouseenter
onmouseleave
onmousemove
onmouseout
onmouseover
onmouseup
onpaste
onpause
onplay
onplaying
onprogress
onratechange
onreset
onresize
onscroll
onsecuritypolicyviolation
onseeked
onseeking
onselect
onslotchange
onstalled
onsubmit
onsuspend
ontimeupdate
ontoggle
onvolumechange
onwaiting
onwheel
Most event handler content attributes can be used on all HTML elements, but some event handlers have specific rules around when they can be used and which elements they are applicable to.
For more detail, see HTML event handler content attributes.