Embedded objects (<object>, <param />)

The object element is used to insert a file into the document. That file can be of any type, an image, a text file, a video or audio, or even a file written in another language such as a flash based animation.

A browser will always try to render an object element and if for some reason it cannot be done, it should try to somehow render its content.

The element as a URI source uses data or classid attributes, depending on the type of a file being inserted.

An object element can also be nested under other <object> tag or tags but in that case a browser must read the content but not render it unless the parent <object> tag cannot be executed.

The param element is always a child to an object element. It is used when there are other values of the object to be specified at run-time and it comes in name / value pairs as attributes. For instance <param> tag can define the width and the height of an element or "tell" the browser to automatically repeat a flash animation.

This code editor below is a combination of a form's textarea and an object.

The object element is added to the HTML to replace older and deprecated elements <applet> and <embed> so older browser might not be able to render it.

Param is an empty tag, therefore the closing tag is forbidden.

Syntax:

<object data="URI" type=""><param name="" value="" /></object>

Attributes:

• id (document-wide identifiers)
• class (<object>) (document-wide identifiers)
• lang (<object>) (language information), dir (text direction)
• title (<object>) (element title)
• style (<object>) (inline style information)
• name (elements name)
• value, valuetype (<param />) (param specific attributes)
• type (objects type)
• classid, codebase, codetype, data, archive, declare, standby (<object>) (object specific attributes)
• tabindex (<object>) (tabbing navigation)
• usemap (client side image maps)
• width, height (<object>) (visual presentation of objects and images)
• onclick, ondblclick, onmousedown, onmouseup, onmouseover, onmousemove, onmouseout, onkeypress, onkeydown, onkeyup (<object>) (intrinsic events)

Example

HTML object elements:

 

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