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Mariana Simon
Mariana Simon

Posted on • Originally published at learnpine.com

7 useful HTML attributes you may not know

HTML is the cornerstone of web development. Yet, many aspiring programmers merely skim the surface and move on to CSS, JS, etc, missing its entire potential.

This is a list of HTML attributes that many beginners don't know, but that can be helpful.

Please, let me know in the comments if you would like to add any other attribute to the list and I'll check it out ;)

 

1) Multiple

 
The multiple attribute allows the user to enter multiple values on an <input>. It is a boolean attribute valid for file or email input types and the <select> element.

For an email input, if and only if the multiple attribute is specified, the value can be a list of comma-separated email addresses. Any whitespace is removed from each address in the list.

For a file input, the user can select multiple files in the as usual (holding down Shift or Crtl).

<input type="file" multiple>
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2) Accept

 
The <input> element has the accept attribute that allows you to specify the types of files the user can upload.

You need to pass it a string containing a comma-separated list of unique file type specifiers.

You can also use it to specify only audio, image, or video format.

<input type="file" accept=".png, .jpg">
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3) Contenteditable

 
contenteditable is a global attribute (common to all HTML elements) that makes the HTML content editable by the user or not. However, be careful with changes only made to visible content vs the DOM content.

<div contenteditable="true">I'm a cool editable div ;)</div>
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editable div

 

4) Spellcheck

 
The spellcheck is another global attribute that you can use to check spelling and grammar on HTML elements such as input fields and other editable elements.

Note: Typically non-editable elements are not checked for spelling errors, even if the spellcheck attribute is set to true and the browser supports spellchecking.

<p contenteditable="true" spellcheck="true">
Thanks furr checkinng my speling :)</p>
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5) Translate

 
translate tells the browser whether the content should be translated or not.

For instance, you can use it to prevent Google Translate from automatically trying to translate your company's or brand's name.

<footer><p translate="no">LearnPine</p></footer>
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6) Poster

 
Use the poster attribute to specify an image to be shown while the video is downloading, or until the user hits the play button.

If the image isn't specified, nothing is displayed until the first frame is available, then the first frame is shown as the poster frame.

<video controls 
src="https://bit.ly/3nWh78w"
poster="posterImage.png">
</video>
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7) Download

 
Use the download attribute combined with an <a> element to instruct browsers to download a URL instead of navigating to it, so the user will be prompted to save it as a local file.

You can also specify the file name.

<a href="index.html" download="fileName">Download me :)</a>
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About me, let's connect! 👋👩‍💻

 
I'm an avid learner and I love sharing what I know. I teach coding live for free 👉 here and I share coding tips on my Twitter account . If you want more tips, you can follow me 😁
 
 

Top comments (84)

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okrohan profile image
Rohan Salunke

Thanks for writing!
Extending #3: You could also use document.designMode = "on" to make all content editable which really helps while prototyping your html page.

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manutopik profile image
Emmanuel Salomon

I've created a bookmark to toggle designMode :
javascript:(function(){document.designMode=document.designMode==="on"?"off":"on"})();
I realy often use it!

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raghad profile image
raghad-farhud

can i ask what is designMode ?

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gaizkamg profile image
gaizkamg
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techmaniacc profile image
Joseph Mania

Thanks lol

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simonpaix profile image
Mariana Simon

Thanks for the tip Rohan!

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antontsvil profile image
Anton T

Wow! Had no idea, cool tip!

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hunterrajz profile image
HunterRajz

arre bro mujhe kuch baat karne ka hain ..kidhar baat kare???

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okrohan profile image
Rohan Salunke

???

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hunterrajz profile image
HunterRajz

hey bro can we talk ???

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beaufort420 profile image
JP Beaufort

Over the 2 to 3 years of coding and programming, I completely forgot the power HTML gave me alone. Today it's easy to add css and js to a website, but before I even knew of frameworks and responsive design, HTML helped me get 89% for my Practical Assignments in our school's computer class. So go out and learn more of HTML, it's really not that boring.

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simonpaix profile image
Mariana Simon

True. You can do a lot with HTMl only.

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felixhtoo30 profile image
Felix H.

Yes, can do a lot except hacking NASA.
Just kidding 😁

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techmaniacc profile image
Joseph Mania

without datacommunication and Networking how can ur mid associate with NASA🤣🤣🤣just kidding

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felixhtoo30 profile image
Felix H.

Hey, we have Inspector. It's enough 😎
LOL 😂

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miguelmj profile image
MiguelMJ

This was useful!

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simonpaix profile image
Mariana Simon

Glad you liked it, Miguel!

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oscarrodar profile image
Oscar Rodriguez • Edited

Thanks for sharing!

In case you want to use it within your application, check if it's supported by your target browsers by going into caniuse.com/ and just typing the attribute. For example, Accept is not supported by most browsers.

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simonpaix profile image
Mariana Simon

Thanks Oscar! Nice tip, always good to check caniuse. Accept is supported by the major browsers (ie, edge, chrome, firefox, safari) :)

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shafqatkp profile image
shafqatkp

Thanks for this helpful tips

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simonpaix profile image
Mariana Simon

My pleasure :)

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renanlazarotto profile image
Renan "Firehawk" Lazarotto

I've been working with web development for a solid 5 years and I've never heard of some of those. 3, 5 and 7 would've saved me quite some time. Thanks a lot for this!

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simonpaix profile image
Mariana Simon

Nice to hear it helps, Renan ;)

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ganwani_kamal profile image
kamal ganwani

great one

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simonpaix profile image
Mariana Simon

Thanks, Kamal! Appreciate the feedback ;

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ardhityawiedhairawan profile image
Ardhitya Wiedha Irawan

Wow.. thank you. This is cool!

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aohonze profile image
A ZE

The download attribute of an <a/> element is very useful!

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simonpaix profile image
Mariana Simon

It's one of my favorites!

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tohka200213 profile image
tohka20-0213 • Edited

Yet, many aspiring programmers merely skim the surface and move on to CSS, JS, etc, missing its entire potential.

Right!

Some people say that HTML is not programming, but they don't know the depth of it. They only know the tip of the iceberg. HTML attributes are so deep and interesting, and HTML elements are as well.

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simonpaix profile image
Mariana Simon

Exactly! Getting to know the basics well is really helpful :)