LEGEND - Fieldset Caption

Syntax <LEGEND>...</LEGEND>
Attribute Specifications
Contents
Contained in

The LEGEND element defines a caption for form controls grouped by the element. The LEGEND element must be at the start of a FIELDSET, before any other elements.

While the LEGEND element is not widely supported by current browsers, it can still be used safely if a immediately follows the LEGEND. Combined with careful use of , this will cause non-supporting browsers to render the caption as its own paragraph. Elements such as , , and could also be used to help express the meaning of LEGEND to non-supporting browsers.

An example follows: 

<FIELDSET>
  <LEGEND ACCESSKEY=C>Credit Card Information</LEGEND>
  <P>
    <LABEL ACCESSKEY=V>
      <INPUT TYPE=radio NAME=card VALUE=visa> Visa
    </LABEL>
    <LABEL ACCESSKEY=M>
      <INPUT TYPE=radio NAME=card VALUE=mc> MasterCard
    </LABEL>
    <BR>
    <LABEL ACCESSKEY=N>
      Number: <INPUT TYPE=text NAME=number>
    </LABEL>
    <BR>
    <LABEL ACCESSKEY=E>
      Expiry: <INPUT TYPE=text NAME=expiry>
    </LABEL>
  </P>
</FIELDSET>

LEGEND's ACCESSKEY attribute, used throughout the preceding example, specifies a single Unicode character as a shortcut key for giving focus to the LEGEND, allowing the user to quickly jump to a group of form controls. (e.g. &eacute;) may be used as the ACCESSKEY value.

The ALIGN attribute of LEGEND suggests where the caption should be positioned relative to the on visual browsers. Possible values are top, bottom, left, and right. While ALIGN is deprecated, no alternative currently exists in .

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