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Proprietary
TagsWeb Design in a Nutshell, eMatter EditionAppendix DProprietary TagsAPPENDIX D
Proprietary Tags
HTML is an ever-evolving language, and progress is spurred forward by tags
developed in the head-to-head competition to dominate the browser universe.
Although the vast majority of tags work for both major browsers, both Netscape
and Microsoft have developed sets of proprietary tags that work only in their
respective browsers to gain an edge over the competition.
Despite the acknowledgment of a greater good, dealing with browser differences
is the major cause of headaches for web developers. The tables in this appendix
list the available HTML tags that are still only supported in either Netscape Navi-
gator or Internet Explorer.
Microsoft Internet Explorer Proprietary Tags
The following tags and attributes are supported only by Internet Explorer. Tags
marked with an asterisk (*) indicate the tag has been adopted by the HTML 4.0
Specification, but as of this writing, is not yet supported by Netscape Navigator.
HTML Tag or Attribute Description
<basefont>
color=color
face=font faceSets the color and/or font of the entire docu-
ment when placed in the<head>or for subse-
quent text when placed in the flow of the
body text
<bgsound> Inserts an audio file that plays in the back-
ground
<body>
bgproperties=valueDetermines whether background image scrolls
with the background
<body>
leftmargin=n
rightmargin=nSets the margin between the browser window
and the contents of the page