Note: Some elements have secondary elements within them. The top-level ones are called parent elements, and the secondary ones are called child elements. A child element can only appear within an allowed parent element. For example,
<li> is a child element of <list>; an <li> cannot appear outside of an <list>,
<h2> is a child element of <level2>; an <h2> cannot appear at <level1>.
| Element | Description | Element Sets | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIMAS v1.1 | ANSI/NISO Z39.86 2002 | DAISY/NISO Z39.86 2005 | ||
| NIMAS Baseline Element Set | ||||
| Document-Level Tags | ||||
| dtbook | The root element in the Digital Talking Book DTD. <dtbook> contains metadata in <head> and the contents of a work itself in <book>. | yes | yes | yes |
| head | Contains metainformation about a work but no actual content of the work itself, which is placed in <book>. This information is consonant with the <head> information in XHTML (see XHTML11STRICT). Other miscellaneous elements can occur before and after the required <title>. | yes | yes | yes |
| book | Surrounds the actual content of a document, which is divided into <frontmatter>, <bodymatter>, and <rearmatter>. <head>, which contains metadata, precedes <book>. | yes | yes | yes |
| meta | Indicates metadata about a book. It is an empty element that may appear repeatedly only in <head>. | yes | yes | yes |
| title | Contains the title of a work but is used only as metainformation in <head>. Use <doctitle> within <book> for an actual book title, which will usually be the same. | yes | yes | yes |
| Structure & Hierarchy Tags | ||||
| frontmatter | Usually contains <doctitle> and <docauthor>, as well as preliminary material that is often enclosed in appropriate <level> or <level1>. Content may include a copyright notice, foreword, acknowledgments, table of contents, etc. <frontmatter> serves as a guide to the content and nature of a <book>. | yes | yes | yes |
| bodymatter | Consists of the text proper of a book, as contrasted with preliminary material <frontmatter> or supplementary information in <rearmatter>. | yes | yes | yes |
| rearmatter | Contains supplementary material such as appendices, glossaries, bibliographies, and indices. It follows the <bodymatter> of the book. | yes | yes | yes |
| level1 | The highest-level container of major divisions of a book. Used in <frontmatter>, <bodymatter>, and <rearmatter> to mark the largest divisions of a book (usually parts or chapters), inside which level2 subdivisions (often sections) may nest. A class attribute identifies the actual name (e.g., part, chapter) of the structure it marks. Contrast with <level>. | yes | yes | yes |
| level2 | Contains subdivisions that nest within <level1> divisions. Class attributes identify actual names (e.g., subpart, chapter, subsection) of the structure it marks. | yes | yes | yes |
| level3 | Contains sub-subdivisions that nest within <level2> subdivisions (e.g., sub-subsections within subsections). Class attributes identify actual names (e.g., section, subpart, subsubsection) of subordinate structure it marks. | yes | yes | yes |
| level4 | Contains further subdivisions that nest within <level3> subdivisions. A class attribute identifies the actual name of the subordinate structure it marks. | yes | yes | yes |
| level5 | Contains further subdivisions that nest within <level4> subdivisions. A class attribute identifies the actual name of the subordinate structure it marks. | yes | yes | yes |
| level6 | Contains further subdivisions that nest within <level5> subdivisions. A class attribute identifies the actual name of the subordinate structure it marks. | yes | yes | yes |
| h1 | Contains the text of a heading for a <level1> structure. | yes | yes | yes |
| h2 | Contains the text of a heading for a <level2> structure. | yes | yes | yes |
| h3 | Contains the text of a heading for a <level3> structure. | yes | yes | yes |
| h4 | Contains the text of a heading for a <level4> structure. | yes | yes | yes |
| h5 | Contains the text of a heading for a <level5> structure. | yes | yes | yes |
| h6 | Contains the text of a heading for a <level6> structure. | yes | yes | yes |
| Block Elements | not permitted as child of front-, body-, or rearmatter | |||
| author | Identifies the writer of a work other than this one. Contrast with <docauthor>, which identifies the author of this work. Typically occurs within <blockquote>. | yes | yes | yes |
| blockquote | Indicates a block of quoted content that is set off from surrounding text by paragraph breaks. Compare with <q>, which marks short, inline quotations. | yes | yes | yes |
| list | Contains a list, ordered or unordered. The list may have an intermixed heading <hd> (generally only one, possibly with <prodnote>) and an intermixture of list items <li> and <pagenum>. If bullets and outline enumerations are part of print content, they are expected to prefix those list items in content, rather than be implicitly generated. | yes | yes | yes |
| li | Marks each list item in a <list>. <li> content may be either inline or block and may include other nested lists. Alternatively, it may contain a sequence of list item components, <lic>, that identify regularly occurring content, such as the heading and page number of each entry in a table of contents. | yes | yes | yes |
| lic | ("List item component") allows ordered sub-structure within a list item <li>. Used when a list item is made up of two or more components, as in a table of contents entry. The same number of <lic>s should occur in each <li> in a list. If not, correspondence of <lic> in different <li> is in order of occurrence for the current writing direction of the <li>. | optional | yes | yes |
| hd | Marks the text of a heading in a <list> or <sidebar>. | yes | yes | yes |
| note | Marks a footnote, endnote, etc. Any local reference to <note id="yyy"> is by <noteref idref="#yyy">. | yes | yes | yes |
| p | Contains a paragraph, which may contain subsidiary <list> or <dl> content. | yes | yes | yes |
| sidebar | Contains information supplementary to main text and/or narrative flow and often boxed/printed apart from the main area of a page. May have a heading. | yes | yes | yes; must include render attribute w/required or optional noted |
| cite | Marks a reference (or citation) to another document. | yes | yes | yes |
| dd | Marks a definition of a preceding term <dt> within a definition list <dl>. A definition without a preceding <dt> has no semantic interpretation, but is visually presented aligned with other <dd>. | yes | yes | yes |
| dl | Contains a definition list, usually consisting of pairs of terms <dt> and definitions <dd>. Any definition can contain another definition list. | yes | yes | yes |
| dt | Marks a term in a definition list <dl> for which a definition <dd> follows. | yes | yes | yes |
| Inline Elements | ||||
| em | Indicates emphasis. Usually <em> is rendered in italics. Compare with <strong>. | yes | yes | yes |
| q | Contains a short, inline quotation. Compare with <blockquote>, which marks a longer quotation set off from surrounding text. | yes | yes | yes |
| strong | Marks stronger emphasis than <em>. Visually, <strong> is usually rendered in bold. | yes | yes | yes |
| sub | Indicates a subscript character (printed below a character's normal baseline). Can be used recursively and/or intermixed with <sup>. | yes | yes | yes |
| sup | Marks a superscript character (printed above a character's normal baseline). Can be used recursively and/or intermixed with <sub>. | yes | yes | yes |
| br | Marks a forced line break. | yes | yes | yes |
| line | Marks a single, logical line of text. Often used in conjunction with <linenum> in documents with numbered lines. Use when line breaks must be preserved to capture meaning (e.g., poems, legal texts). | yes | yes | yes |
| linenum | Contains a line number (for example, in legal text). Use with <line>, for lines numbered in print work. | yes | yes | yes |
| pagenum | Contains one page number as it appears in a print document, usually inserted at the point within the file immediately preceding the first item of content on a new page. [Valid only when an id attribute is included]. | yes | yes | yes |
| noteref | Marks one or more characters that reference a footnote or endnote <note>. Contrast with <annoref>. <noteref> and <note> are independently skippable. | yes | yes | yes |
| Tables | ||||
| table | Contains cells of tabular data arranged in rows and columns. A <table> may have a <caption>. It may have descriptions of its columns in <col>s or groupings of several <col>s in <colgroup>. A simple <table> may be made up of just rows <tr>. A long table crossing several pages of a print work should have separate <pagenum> values for each of the pages containing that <table>, indicated on the page where it starts or re-starts. Note the logical order of optional <thead>, optional <tfoot>, then one or more of either <tbody> or just rows <tr>. This order accommodates simple or large, complex tables. <thead> and <tfoot> information usually helps identify the content of <tbody> rows. For a multiple-page <table>, <thead> and <tfoot> are repeated, but not redundantly tagged. | yes | yes | yes |
| td | Indicates a table cell containing data. | yes | yes | yes |
| tr | Marks one row of a <table> containing <th> or <td> cells. | yes | yes | yes |
| thead | Marks header information in a <table>, consisting of one or more rows <tr> of <th> cells. Use <thead> to duplicate headers when breaking a table across page boundaries, or for static headers when <tbody> sections are rendered in a scrolling panel. | optional | yes | yes |
| tfoot | Marks footer information in a <table>, consisting of one or more rows <tr>, usually of <th> cells. Use <tfoot> to duplicate footers when breaking a table across page boundaries, or for static footers when <tbody> sections are rendered in a scrolling panel. | optional | yes | yes |
| tbody | Marks a group of rows in the main body of a <table>. If a <table> is divided into several sections, each consisting of a number of rows, each section would be separately tagged with <tbody>. The same <thead> and <tfoot> apply to every <tbody> section. Use multiple <tbody> sections when rules are needed between groups of table rows. | optional | yes | yes |
| colgroup | Groups adjacent <col>s that are semantically related. | optional | yes | yes |
| col | Marks one column of a table. | optional | yes | yes |
| th | Indicates a table cell containing header information. | optional | yes | yes |
| caption | Describes a <table> or <img>. If used with <table> it must follow immediately after the <table> start tag. If used with <img> or <imggroup> it is not so constrained. | yes | yes | yes |
| Images | ||||
| imggroup | Provides a container for one or more <img>(s) and associated <caption>(s) and <prodnote>(s). A <prodnote> may contain a long description of an image. The content model allows-1) multiple <img>s if they share a caption, with the ids of each <img> in the <caption imgref="id1 id2 ...">, 2) multiple <caption>s if several captions refer to a single <img id="xxx"> where each caption has the same <caption imgref="xxx">, 3) multiple <prodnote>s if different versions are needed for different media (e.g., large print, Braille, or print). If several <prodnote>s refer to a single <img id="xxx">, each prodnote has the same <prodnote imgref="xxx">. | yes | yes | yes |
| caption | Describes a <table> or <img>. If used with <table> it must follow immediately after the <table> start tag. If used with <img> or <imggroup> it is not so constrained. | yes | yes | yes |
| Optional Elements | ||||
| a | Contains an anchor, which is used to reference another location, usually within the same or another <dtbook>. | optional | yes | yes; external attribute added w/true or false |
| abbr | Designates an abbreviation, a shortened form of a word. Examples: Mr., approx., lbs., rec'd. Contrast with <acronym>. | optional | yes | yes |
| acronym | Marks a word formed from key letters (usually initials) of a group of words. For examples: UNESCO, NATO, XML, US. Contrast with <abbr>. | optional | yes | yes |
| address | Contains contact information (e.g., for a person or an agency). By use of <line> to contain content of individual lines, a class attribute can be used to identify the content of that <line>. For example, class values might include the following: name, address, region (state, province, etc.), country, location code (such as zip code, provincial code), phone, fax, email, etc. | optional | yes | yes |
| annoref | Marks a text segment that references an <annotation>. Each <annoref> is usually a word, phrase, or whole line that is part of surrounding text (identified in original print work by bold, italics, etc.). It should not normally be allowed to be turned off in a DTB application. | optional | yes | yes |
| annotation | A comment on or an explanation of a portion of a printed work. It differs from <note> in that an <annotation> is usually set in a margin or on a facing page, often with no explicit reference to it inserted in the text. Any local reference to <annotation id="xxx"> is by <annoref idref="#xxx">. | optional | yes | yes |
| bdo | Used in special cases where automatic actions of the bi-directional algorithm would result in incorrect display. | optional | yes | yes |
| code | Designates a fragment of computer code. | optional | yes | yes |
| col | Marks one column of a table. | optional | yes | yes |
| colgroup | Groups adjacent <col>s that are semantically related. | optional | yes | yes |
| dfn | Marks the first occurrence of a word or term that is defined or explained there or elsewhere in <book>. Often <dfn> is rendered in italics, sometimes in parentheses. | optional | yes | yes |
| div | A generic container for subdivisions of a work. The <level1> ... <level6> hierarchy, or the <level> tag used recursively, should mark major hierarchical structures of a work, while <div> is used in less formal circumstances or when, for production purposes, a structure should be treated differently. Compare with <span>, which is used in inline settings. | optional | yes | yes; div must be w/in <level> or <level1> ... <level6> |
| docauthor | Marks each author or editor of this work. Compare with <author>, used to mark the author of another work, within <blockquote> or <cite>. | optional | yes | yes |
| doctitle | Marks the title of a work within <frontmatter>. By convention, <doctitle> should appear only once. Contrast with <title>, which occurs as metadata in <head> yet whose content is generally the same. | optional | yes | yes |
| hr | An empty element, minimally <hr/>, indicating a horizontal rule (line). It may be used to indicate a break in text where only blank lines, a row of asterisks, a horizontal line, etc., are used in a print work. | deleted | yes | deleted |
| img | Marks a visual image. An <img> will always contain an alt and generally contain a longdesc (a pointer to a related <prodnote>). An <img> may be referenced by a <caption> or <prodnote>, using, for example, the form <caption imgref="#yyy">caption text here</caption> for the <img id="yyy">. | yes | yes | yes |
| kbd | Designates information that a user is to input directly into a computer using a keyboard. | optional | yes | yes |
| level | An alternative tag for marking major structures in a work. It may be used recursively, i.e., repeated indefinitely with each successive occurrence nesting within a previous occurence. It may also be included in a subsequent higher level. Subordinate levels have greater depth. Contrast with the explicit <level1>...<level6> elements, which may not be intermixed with <level>. | optional | yes | yes |
| levelhd | Contains the text of a heading within <level>. Corresponds to <h1> through <h6> used in <level1> through <level6>, but cannot be intermixed with those tags. | deleted | yes | deleted |
| lic | ("List item component") allows ordered substructure within a list item <li>. Used when a list item is made up of two or more components, as in a table of contents entry. The same number of <lic>s should occur in each <li>. If not, correspondence of <lic> in different <li> is in order of occurrence for the current writing direction of the <li>. | optional | yes | yes |
| link | An empty element appearing in the <head> section of a document that establishes a connection between the current document and another document. The <link> element conveys relationship information (for example, "next" and "previous") that may be rendered by user agents in a variety of ways. | optional | yes | yes |
| notice | Contains a warning, caution, or other type of admonition normally found in the margin of a book. In contrast with <sidebar>, a <notice> must be presented at a specific location within the text. Its presentation is not optional. | deleted | yes | deleted |
| prodnote | Contains language added to an alternative-format version by a producer; commonly used to provide descriptions of one or more visual elements such as charts, graphs, etc.; to supply operating instructions; to describe differences between a print work and its audio version. | optional | yes | yes; must include render attribute w/required or optional noted |
| samp | Contains a sample of work created by the author for use as an example or template. For example, a sample business letter, résumé, computer program output, or form. | optional | yes | yes |
| sent | Marks a sentence. | optional | yes | yes |
| span | A generic container for use in inline settings when no specific tag exists for a given situation. A class attribute may describe the nature of the text it marks (e.g., a typographical error). May be used to mark a class of items to which styles are to be applied. Compare with <div>, which is used in block settings. | optional | yes | yes |
| style | Provides the means to include styling information that applies to a work. It may appear only in <head>. It may include CDATA sections. | deleted | yes | deleted |
| tbody | Marks a group of rows in the main body of a <table>. If a <table> is divided into several sections, each consisting of a number of rows, each section would be separately tagged with <tbody>. The same <thead> and <tfoot> apply to every <tbody> section. Use multiple <tbody> sections when rules (lines) are needed between groups of table rows. | optional | yes | yes |
| tfoot | Marks footer information in a <table> consisting of one or more rows <tr>, usually of <th> cells. Use <tfoot> to duplicate footers when breaking a table across page boundaries, or for static footers when <tbody> sections are rendered in a scrolling panel. | optional | yes | yes |
| th | Indicates a table cell containing header information. | optional | yes | yes |
| thead | Marks header information in a <table> consisting of one or more rows <tr> of <th> cells. Use <thead> to duplicate headers when breaking a table across page boundaries, or for static headers when <tbody> sections are rendered in a scrolling panel. | optional | yes | yes |
| w | Marks a word. | optional | yes | yes |
| NEW DAISY/NISO Z39.86 2005 | ||||
| bridgehead | A free-floating header that is not associated with the hierarchical structure of a document. It may occur only as a subsidiary to one of the hierarchic elements. <hd> and <h1> ... <h6> are restricted to one occurrence per level or with corresponding <level1> ... <level6> tags, respectively. <bridgehead> has no such restriction, but should be used only when it is clear that no other structural headings are appropriate. See also <hd>. | optional | no | yes |
| byline | Contains information about the creator of or contributor to a work. | optional | no | yes |
| covertitle | A short title of a work, often found on the spine of a print book. It may be the same as the work's <doctitle>. | optional | no | yes |
| dateline | Contains information about the time and/or place at which a work was authored. | optional | no | yes |
| epigraph | Marks a quotation placed at the beginning of a work or a division of a work. | optional | no | yes |
| linegroup | Provides means to group a set of lines of a <poem>. | optional | no | yes |
| poem | A complete <poem> or fragment thereof. | optional | no | yes |
The NIMAS Development and Technical Assistance Center, supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), works with states, TA systems, disability advocates, national associations, technology experts, publishers and content conversion houses to improve the timely delivery of high quality accessible educational materials to students with disabilities.The NIMAS Center was launched on October 1, 2004.The project officer for both the Development and TA Centers is Bonnie Jones, Ed.D. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the Department of Education's position or policy.