<LINK> | NN 4 IE 3 HTML all
<LINK>...</LINK> | End Tag: Forbidden
Unlike the A element (informally called a link when it contains an HREF attribute), the LINK element belongs inside the HEAD element and is a place for the document to establish links with external documents, such as style sheet definition files or font definition files. By and large, browsers have yet to exploit the intended powers of this element. A variety of attributes let the author establish relationships between the current document and potentially related documents. In theory, some of these relationships could be rendered as part of the document or browser controls. Implementations of this element in both Navigator 4 and Internet Explorer 4 are rather weak compared to the HTML 4.0 specification. At the same time, several attributes (and all event handlers) defined in the HTML 4.0 specification aren't very helpful because they more typically apply to elements that actually display content on the page. No explicit document content is rendered as a result of the LINK element. Some of those attributes may be listed by mistake or merely for consistency. They are listed here, but because they are not implemented in browsers, they are supplied for informational purposes only.
Example
    <HEAD>
    <TITLE>Section 3</TITLE>
    <LINK REV="Prev" HREF="sect2.html">
    <LINK REL="Next" HREF="sect4.html">
    <LINK REL="stylesheet" TYPE="text/css" HREF="myStyles.css">
    </HEAD>
Object Model Reference
IE | [window.]document.all.elementID

CHARSET | NN n/a IE n/a HTML 4
CHARSET="characterSet" | Optional
Character encoding of the content at the other end of the link.
Example
    <LINK CHARSET="csISO5427Cyrillic" HREF="moscow.html">
Value Case-insensitive alias from the character set registry (ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/character-sets).
Default | Determined by browser.

DISABLED | NN n/a IE 4 HTML n/a
DISABLED | Optional
The presence of this attribute disables the LINK element. Unlike when this attribute is applied to content-holding elements, in this case no content is grayed out in response.
Example
    <LINK REL="Index" HREF="indexList.html" DISABLED>
Value The presence of this attribute sets its value to true.
Default | false
Object Model Reference
IE | [window.]document.all.elementID.disabled

HREF | NN n/a IE 3 HTML all
HREF="URI" | Required
The URI of the destination of a link. Navigator 4 uses the SRC attribute for this purpose. Include both attributes for a cross-browser implementation.
Example
    <LINK REL="Prev" HREF="sect2.html">
Value Any valid URI, including complete and relative URLs.
Default | None.
Object Model Reference
IE | [window.]document.all.elementID.href

HREFLANG | NN n/a IE n/a HTML 4
HREFLANG="languageCode" | Optional
The language code of the content at the destination of a link. Requires that the HREF attribute also be set. This attribute is primarily an advisory attribute to help a browser prepare itself for a new language set if the browser is so enabled.
Example
    <LINK HREFLANG="HI" HREF="hindi/Chap3.html">
Value Case-insensitive language code.
Default | Browser default.

MEDIA | NN n/a IE n/a HTML 4
MEDIA="descriptorList" | Optional
Sets the intended output device for the content of the destination document pointed to by the HREF attribute. The MEDIA attribute looks forward to the day when browsers are able to tailor content to specific kinds of devices such as pocket computers, text-to-speech digitizers, or fuzzy television sets. The HTML 4.0 specification defines a number of constant values for anticipated devices, but the list is open-ended, allowing future browsers to tailor output to yet other kinds of media and devices.
Example
    <LINK REL="Glossary" HREF="gloss.html" MEDIA="screen, tv, handheld">
Value Case-sensitive constant values. Multiple values can be grouped together in a comma-delimited list within a quoted string. Values defined in HTML 4.0 are all | aura | braille | handheld | print | projection | screen | tty | tv .
Default | screen

REL | NN 4 IE 3 HTML 3.2
REL="linkTypes" | Optional
Defines the relationship between the current element and the destination of the link. The HTML 4.0 recommendation defines several link types; it is up to the browser to determine how to employ the value. The element must include an HREF attribute for the REL attribute to be applied.
Example
    <LINK REL="Next" HREF="sect6.html">
Value Case-insensitive, space-delimited list of HTML 4.0 standard link types applicable to the element. Internet Explorer 4 understands only stylesheet; Navigator 4 recognizes stylesheet and fontdef. HTML 4.0-sanctioned link types are:
alternate | contents | index | start
appendix | copyright | next | stylesheet
bookmark | glossary | prev | subsection
chapter | help | section |
Default | None.
Object Model Reference
IE | [window.]document.all.elementID.rel

REV | NN n/a IE n/a HTML 4
REV="linkTypes" | Optional
A reverse link relationship. Like the REL attribute, the REV attribute's capabilities are defined by the browser, particularly with regard to how the browser interprets and renders the various link types available in the HTML 4.0 specification. Given two documents (A and B) containing links that point to each other, the REV value of B is designed to express the same relationship between the two documents as denoted by the REL attribute in A.
Example
    <LINK REV="Prev" HREF="sect4.html">
Value Case-insensitive, space-delimited list of HTML 4.0 standard link types applicable to the element. See the REL attribute for sanctioned link types.
Default | None.

SRC | NN 4 IE n/a HTML n/a
SRC="URL" | Optional
The URL of the destination of a link. Internet Explorer 4 and HTML 4.0 use the HREF attribute for this purpose. Include both attributes for a cross-browser implementation.
Example
    <LINK REL="fontdef" HREF="fonts/garamond.pfr">
Value Any valid URL, including complete and relative URLs.
Default | None.

TARGET | NN n/a IE n/a HTML 4
TARGET="windowOrFrameName" | Optional
Presumably, the TARGET attribute is provided in HTML 4.0 as a way to specify the destination for display of a document at the other end of the HREF attribute of the LINK element. No browser yet implements this attribute because the LINK element so far does not link up to content that can be displayed.
Value Case-sensitive identifier when the frame or window name has been assigned via the target element's NAME attribute. Four reserved target names act as constants:
_blank | Browser creates a new window for the destination document.
_parent | Destination document replaces the current frame's framesetting document (if one exists; otherwise, it is treated as _self).
_self | Destination document replaces the current document in its window or frame.
_top | Destination document is to occupy the entire browser window, replacing any and all framesets that may be loaded (also treated as _self if there are no framesets defined in the window).
Default | _self

TYPE | NN 4 IE 4 HTML 4
TYPE="MIMEType" | Optional
An advisory about the content type of the destination document or resource. In practice, this attribute so far is used to prepare the browser for the style sheet type being linked to.
Example
    <LINK REL="stylesheet" TYPE="text/css" HREF="styles/mainStyle.html">
Value Case-insensitive MIME type. A catalog of registered MIME types is available from ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/media-types/.
Default | None.
Object Model Reference
IE | [window.]document.all.elementID.type