what does <label for=...> mean?

rubyonrails-talk
1

hi all,

i'm a ror newbie and so hope you don't mind this simple question. i was looking at an rhtml file for a form when i ran across this html code:

<label for="user_username">Username:</label>

what is the <label for=...> tag used for? many thanks for your help!

2

If you specify the id of an element in your page, when you click the label it will transfer focus to that element :slight_smile:

Try it:

<label for="foo">Click me!</label> <input type="text" id="foo">

dparkmit wrote:

3

thanks! does it do anything else besides that?

4

dparkmit wrote:

thanks! does it do anything else besides that?   

Nope, but you can style it as a CSS element :wink:

5

thanks! does it do anything else besides that?

It's probably very helpful for people with disabilities.

Your question is strictly about HTML, by the way. You may get better feedback from a mailing list / usenet group specific to that topic.

There's also the w3c consortium's web site, where you can find the full html specifications; see http://www.w3.org/

HTH, Isak

6

In some browsers, radio button and checkbox controls can be clicked on the label in addition to the control itself.

-Rob

Rob Biedenharn http://agileconsultingllc.com Rob@AgileConsultingLLC.com

7

> > thanks! does it do anything else besides that? >

It's probably very helpful for people with disabilities.

Your question is strictly about HTML, by the way. You may get better feedback from a mailing list / usenet group specific to that topic.

Or, you could go to the official source ... the HTML specification, which describes all of the legal elements and attributes[1]. I find the "Index of Elements" and "Index of Attributes" links at the bottom of the Table of Contents to be incredibly useful reference sources, and have them both bookmarked.

Craig

[1] HTML 4.01 Specification