target (HTML attribute)
Description
The target attribute is deprecated and its use as a layout mechanism, like that of the frameset, is no longer common. However, if you do find yourself having to maintain a frameset-based web site, you may need to open links in frames or windows other than the one in which the source of the link resides.
Example
Here, the target
attribute for the a
element is set to "_top"
:
<p>You can try our <a href="cakes.html" target="_top">lovely range of cakes</a>.</p>
Value
The attribute can take any of the following values:
-
"_blank"
loads content in a
completely new window -
"frame name"
loads content in
a frame with a custom name -
"_parent"
loads content in
the parentframeset
for the current
frame
-
"_self"
loads content in the same frame (This attribute isn’t normally required, as this is the default behavior unless thebase
element specifies otherwise. In that case, you’d need to override the specification using"_self"
; for example,<base target="searchresults"/>
.) -
"_top"
loads content in the top-levelframeset
(in effect, the whole browser window), no matter how many nested levels down the currentframe
is located