| Depr. | Version |
|---|---|
| No | HTML 4 |
| IE5.5+ | FF1+ | SA1.3+ | OP9.2+ | CH2+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
Syntax
Description
The
abbr attribute is another one that makes no visual
difference to the table and its contents but, like the
table’s summary
attribute, provides additional information that may be useful for
people accessing the content using assistive technology, such as a screen
reader. Its purpose is to provide a shorter version of the contents of the
th, so that when content further down the table is put
into context (for example, when a screen reader announces the table header
to which a given cell relates), it’s not necessary to have to go through
what might be a very long-winded repetition of the header content. So, in
this example, a screen reader may announce, "Make: Volkswagen, Model:
Golf 2.8 GTi, Revised: June 2007" rather than "Car manufacturer
(make): Volkswagen, Vehicle model (name/spec): Golf 2.8 GTi, Date of last
revision: June 2007".
Example
This table lists vehicle details
using the abbr attribute to contain make, model,
and revision information:
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th abbr="Make">Car manufacturer (make)</th>
<th abbr="Model">Vehicle model (name/spec)</th>
<th abbr="Revised">Date of last revision </th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Volkswagen</td>
<td>Golf 2.8 GTi</td>
<td>June 2007</td>
</tr>
</table>
Value
This attribute takes as its value an
abbreviated (but still meaningful) form of the th
content.
Compatibility
| Internet Explorer | Firefox | Safari | Opera | Chrome | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 9.2 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 2.0 |
| Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
This attribute’s compatibility is debatable. No browser renders it on the page, so it’s difficult to say whether or not any browsers have difficulties with it. The biggest question regarding its compatibility is really centered on assistive technology—for example, screen readers—and whether they are capable of retrieving that useful summary information.
While the abbr attribute
content does not render visually, all browsers recognised the element and
exposed it via the DOM, making it possible to work with through
client-side scripting.
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