Specification For HTML Meta Element with Name Value Format-Print

Section 1: Introduction

This is the specification for the HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “format-print”. This is version 2.0.3 of this specification.

HTML is the HyperText Markup Language, which is a commonly used, perhaps the most commonly used, non-natural language for pages hosted on the World Wide Web. HTML is generally written approximately in accordance with specifications that have been revised several times. Two of those HTML specifications are the HTML Living Standard (as updated May 13, 2017 and May 16, 2017 (One-Page Version treated here as if authoritative) (<https://html.spec.whatwg.org/>, as accessed May 13, 2017 and May 16, 2017)) and HTML 5.1 (version of November 1, 2016) (<http://www.w3.org/TR/html51/single-page.html>, as accessed before and on May 16, 2017). The HTML Living Standard is maintained by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) and HTML 5.1 is maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Each of those HTML specifications specifies numerous elements and, in section 4.2.5 of each such HTML specification, one such element is the meta element. For that element, each of those HTML specifications specifies attributes including the name attribute, specifies some names that can be values for that attribute (limited to one such value per such attribute per such element), and provides, in section 4.2.5.2 of each such HTML specification, a means by which extensional or additional names may be proposed to be values for that attribute, each such proposal to include a link to a specification for that extensional or additional name. This specification may appropriately be linked to from such a proposal.

This specification, as published on this page and which, except as otherwise stated, is normative, shall also apply, insofar as compatible, to any specification of the HTML Living Standard or of HTML 5.1 other than those referenced above and of any version preceding or succeeding HTML 5.1; except that it shall not apply to any page authored before this specification was first published (the date of such first publication being stated below).

Sec. 1.1: Definitions and Construction

The words and phrases must, must not, required, shall, shall not, should, should not, recommended, may, and optional in this specification and regardless of capitalization are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 (also known as BCP 14).

The format-print is the ‘format of the medium on which the page should be printed’.

A token as that word is used in this specification is a token in the content attribute value and, with respect to comma-separated tokens, is as defined in HTML 5.1, referenced supra, section 2.4.8.

An output reproducer is a ‘device that delivers output as a physically removable reproduction’. Thus, an output reproducer includes a printer and does not include a display.

In this specification, if a string, including a null string and a non-null string with no visible or displaying characters, is rendered (including being displayed) with or surrounded by single quotation marks which are curved when a font in which this specification may be displayed has single quotation marks as both straight and curved or is rendered (including being displayed) with or surrounded by double quotation marks which are curved when a font in which this specification may be displayed has double quotation marks as both straight and curved, then the quotation marks that may thus be curved are, unless otherwise stated in this specification, not part of the string. Thus, generally, the string represented by “example” is only seven characters long, not nine.

Sec. 1.2: Problem Being Solved

This subsection is non-normative.

A page may support being printed, as most do, but the author of a particular page may desire printing to be on a medium with characteristics specified by the author. A user agent could be designed to respond to a user’s print command by intervening with the information about, for example, what kind of paper is needed for that page, so that the user could prepare a printer accordingly. The information could be given to the user or, in some circumstances, to the printer.

Sec. 2: Method

Sec. 2.1: Preparation of Element

There may be an HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “format-print” and, if that element is present, it shall have the content attribute value set to one or more of several tokens. If more than one token is in the value, they may be in any order and shall be separated by a comma or commas. The tokens shall only be from the lists below. No more than one token may be from any one list below. If more than one token are from the same list below and are in the same value, all such tokens except the first shall be ignored.

Sec. 2.2: Content Attribute Values

The content attribute value shall be composed of no more than one token from each of the lists of tokens below.

Sec. 2.2.1: Tokens on Substance Material

— “paper”

— “onion-skin”

— “envelope”

— “card”

— “fabric”

— “custom-substance”

— “custom-substance-. . .” where the ellipsis shall be replaced by any subtoken composed with no invisible characters, spaces, or hyphens

Sec. 2.2.2: Tokens on Substance Size

— “letter”

— “legal”

— “monarch”

— “A4”

— “A5”

— “B5”

— “11x17” (the middle character being the 24th letter of the alphabet)

— “23x35” (the middle character being the 24th letter of the alphabet)

— “10” (for envelope size #10)

— “6-3-4” (for envelope size #6 3/4)

— width and height in inches as decimal rational numbers, separated by “x”, and ending in “in” (such as “custom-8x10.5in”)

— width and height in millimeters as decimal rational numbers, separated by “x”, and ending in “mm” (such as “custom-18.1x24mm”)

— “custom-size”

— “custom-size-. . .” where the ellipsis shall be replaced by any subtoken composed with no invisible characters, spaces, or hyphens

Sec. 2.2.3: Tokens on Substance Color

The following colors are listed in alphabetical order.
— “AliceBlue” (non-normatively also known as #F0F8FF (in hexadecimal))

— “AntiqueWhite” (non-normatively also known as #FAEBD7 (in hexadecimal))

— “Aqua” (non-normatively also known as #00FFFF (in hexadecimal))

— “Aquamarine” (non-normatively also known as #7FFFD4 (in hexadecimal))

— “Azure” (non-normatively also known as #F0FFFF (in hexadecimal))

— “Beige” (non-normatively also known as #F5F5DC (in hexadecimal))

— “Bisque” (non-normatively also known as #FFE4C4 (in hexadecimal))

— “Black” (non-normatively also known as #000000 (in hexadecimal))

— “BlanchedAlmond” (non-normatively also known as #FFEBCD (in hexadecimal))

— “Blue” (non-normatively also known as #0000FF (in hexadecimal))

— “BlueViolet” (non-normatively also known as #8A2BE2 (in hexadecimal))

— “Brown” (non-normatively also known as #A52A2A (in hexadecimal))

— “BurlyWood” (non-normatively also known as #DEB887 (in hexadecimal))

— “CadetBlue” (non-normatively also known as #5F9EA0 (in hexadecimal))

— “Chartreuse” (non-normatively also known as #7FFF00 (in hexadecimal))

— “Chocolate” (non-normatively also known as #D2691E (in hexadecimal))

— “Coral” (non-normatively also known as #FF7F50 (in hexadecimal))

— “CornflowerBlue” (non-normatively also known as #6495ED (in hexadecimal))

— “Cornsilk” (non-normatively also known as #FFF8DC (in hexadecimal))

— “Crimson” (non-normatively also known as #DC143C (in hexadecimal))

— “Cyan” (non-normatively also known as #00FFFF (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkBlue” (non-normatively also known as #00008B (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkCyan” (non-normatively also known as #008B8B (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkGoldenRod” (non-normatively also known as #B8860B (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkGray” or “DarkGrey” (both strings shall have the same meaning) (non-normatively also known as #A9A9A9 (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkGreen” (non-normatively also known as #006400 (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkKhaki” (non-normatively also known as #BDB76B (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkMagenta” (non-normatively also known as #8B008B (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkOliveGreen” (non-normatively also known as #556B2F (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkOrange” (non-normatively also known as #FF8C00 (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkOrchid” (non-normatively also known as #9932CC (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkRed” (non-normatively also known as #8B0000 (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkSalmon” (non-normatively also known as #E9967A (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkSeaGreen” (non-normatively also known as #8FBC8F (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkSlateBlue” (non-normatively also known as #483D8B (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkSlateGray” or “DarkSlateGrey” (both strings shall have the same meaning) (non-normatively also known as #2F4F4F (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkTurquoise” (non-normatively also known as #00CED1 (in hexadecimal))

— “DarkViolet” (non-normatively also known as #9400D3 (in hexadecimal))

— “DeepPink” (non-normatively also known as #FF1493 (in hexadecimal))

— “DeepSkyBlue” (non-normatively also known as #00BFFF (in hexadecimal))

— “DimGray” or “DimGrey” (both strings shall have the same meaning) (non-normatively also known as (in hexadecimal))

— “DodgerBlue” (non-normatively also known as #1E90FF (in hexadecimal))

— “FireBrick” (non-normatively also known as #B22222 (in hexadecimal))

— “FloralWhite” (non-normatively also known as #FFFAF0 (in hexadecimal))

— “ForestGreen” (non-normatively also known as #228B22 (in hexadecimal))

— “Fuchsia” (non-normatively also known as #FF00FF (in hexadecimal))

— “Gainsboro” (non-normatively also known as #DCDCDC (in hexadecimal))

— “GhostWhite” (non-normatively also known as #F8F8FF (in hexadecimal))

— “Gold” (non-normatively also known as #FFD700 (in hexadecimal))

— “GoldenRod” (non-normatively also known as #DAA520 (in hexadecimal))

— “Gray” or “Grey” (both strings shall have the same meaning) (non-normatively also known as #808080 (in hexadecimal))

— “Green” (non-normatively also known as #008000 (in hexadecimal))

— “GreenYellow” (non-normatively also known as #ADFF2F (in hexadecimal))

— “HoneyDew” (non-normatively also known as #F0FFF0 (in hexadecimal))

— “HotPink” (non-normatively also known as #FF69B4 (in hexadecimal))

— “IndianRed” (non-normatively also known as #CD5C5C (in hexadecimal))

— “Indigo” (non-normatively also known as #4B0082 (in hexadecimal))

— “Ivory” (non-normatively also known as #FFFFF0 (in hexadecimal))

— “Khaki” (non-normatively also known as #F0E68C (in hexadecimal))

— “Lavender” (non-normatively also known as #E6E6FA (in hexadecimal))

— “LavenderBlush” (non-normatively also known as #FFF0F5 (in hexadecimal))

— “LawnGreen” (non-normatively also known as #7CFC00 (in hexadecimal))

— “LemonChiffon” (non-normatively also known as #FFFACD (in hexadecimal))

— “LightBlue” (non-normatively also known as #ADD8E6 (in hexadecimal))

— “LightCoral” (non-normatively also known as #F08080 (in hexadecimal))

— “LightCyan” (non-normatively also known as #E0FFFF (in hexadecimal))

— “LightGoldenRodYellow” (non-normatively also known as #FAFAD2 (in hexadecimal))

— “LightGray” or “LightGrey” (both strings shall have the same meaning) (non-normatively also known as #D3D3D3 (in hexadecimal))

— “LightGreen” (non-normatively also known as #90EE90 (in hexadecimal))

— “LightPink” (non-normatively also known as #FFB6C1 (in hexadecimal))

— “LightSalmon” (non-normatively also known as #FFA07A (in hexadecimal))

— “LightSeaGreen” (non-normatively also known as #20B2AA (in hexadecimal))

— “LightSkyBlue” (non-normatively also known as #87CEFA (in hexadecimal))

— “LightSlateGray” or “LightSlateGrey” (both strings shall have the same meaning) (non-normatively also known as #778899 (in hexadecimal))

— “LightSteelBlue” (non-normatively also known as #B0C4DE (in hexadecimal))

— “LightYellow” (non-normatively also known as #FFFFE0 (in hexadecimal))

— “Lime” (non-normatively also known as #00FF00 (in hexadecimal))

— “LimeGreen” (non-normatively also known as #32CD32 (in hexadecimal))

— “Linen” (non-normatively also known as #FAF0E6 (in hexadecimal))

— “Magenta” (non-normatively also known as #FF00FF (in hexadecimal))

— “Maroon” (non-normatively also known as #800000 (in hexadecimal))

— “MediumAquaMarine” (non-normatively also known as #66CDAA (in hexadecimal))

— “MediumBlue” (non-normatively also known as #0000CD (in hexadecimal))

— “MediumOrchid” (non-normatively also known as #BA55D3 (in hexadecimal))

— “MediumPurple” (non-normatively also known as #9370DB (in hexadecimal))

— “MediumSeaGreen” (non-normatively also known as #3CB371 (in hexadecimal))

— “MediumSlateBlue” (non-normatively also known as #7B68EE (in hexadecimal))

— “MediumSpringGreen” (non-normatively also known as #00FA9A (in hexadecimal))

— “MediumTurquoise” (non-normatively also known as #48D1CC (in hexadecimal))

— “MediumVioletRed” (non-normatively also known as #C71585 (in hexadecimal))

— “MidnightBlue” (non-normatively also known as #191970 (in hexadecimal))

— “MintCream” (non-normatively also known as #F5FFFA (in hexadecimal))

— “MistyRose” (non-normatively also known as #FFE4E1 (in hexadecimal))

— “Moccasin” (non-normatively also known as #FFE4B5 (in hexadecimal))

— “NavajoWhite” (non-normatively also known as #FFDEAD (in hexadecimal))

— “Navy” (non-normatively also known as #000080 (in hexadecimal))

— “OldLace” (non-normatively also known as #FDF5E6 (in hexadecimal))

— “Olive” (non-normatively also known as #808000 (in hexadecimal))

— “OliveDrab” (non-normatively also known as #6B8E23 (in hexadecimal))

— “Orange” (non-normatively also known as #FFA500 (in hexadecimal))

— “OrangeRed” (non-normatively also known as #FF4500 (in hexadecimal))

— “Orchid” (non-normatively also known as #DA70D6 (in hexadecimal))

— “PaleGoldenRod” (non-normatively also known as #EEE8AA (in hexadecimal))

— “PaleGreen” (non-normatively also known as #98FB98 (in hexadecimal))

— “PaleTurquoise” (non-normatively also known as #AFEEEE (in hexadecimal))

— “PaleVioletRed” (non-normatively also known as #DB7093 (in hexadecimal))

— “PapayaWhip” (non-normatively also known as #FFEFD5 (in hexadecimal))

— “PeachPuff” (non-normatively also known as #FFDAB9 (in hexadecimal))

— “Peru” (non-normatively also known as #CD853F (in hexadecimal))

— “Pink” (non-normatively also known as #FFC0CB (in hexadecimal))

— “Plum” (non-normatively also known as #DDA0DD (in hexadecimal))

— “PowderBlue” (non-normatively also known as #B0E0E6 (in hexadecimal))

— “Purple” (non-normatively also known as #800080 (in hexadecimal))

— “RebeccaPurple” (non-normatively also known as #663399 (in hexadecimal))

— “Red” (non-normatively also known as #FF0000 (in hexadecimal))

— “RosyBrown” (non-normatively also known as #BC8F8F (in hexadecimal))

— “RoyalBlue” (non-normatively also known as #4169E1 (in hexadecimal))

— “SaddleBrown” (non-normatively also known as #8B4513 (in hexadecimal))

— “Salmon” (non-normatively also known as #FA8072 (in hexadecimal))

— “SandyBrown” (non-normatively also known as #F4A460 (in hexadecimal))

— “SeaGreen” (non-normatively also known as #2E8B57 (in hexadecimal))

— “SeaShell” (non-normatively also known as #FFF5EE (in hexadecimal))

— “Sienna” (non-normatively also known as #A0522D (in hexadecimal))

— “Silver” (non-normatively also known as #C0C0C0 (in hexadecimal))

— “SkyBlue” (non-normatively also known as #87CEEB (in hexadecimal))

— “SlateBlue” (non-normatively also known as #6A5ACD (in hexadecimal))

— “SlateGray” or “SlateGrey” (both strings shall have the same meaning) (non-normatively also known as #708090 (in hexadecimal))

— “Snow” (non-normatively also known as #FFFAFA (in hexadecimal))

— “SpringGreen” (non-normatively also known as #00FF7F (in hexadecimal))

— “SteelBlue” (non-normatively also known as #4682B4 (in hexadecimal))

— “Tan” (non-normatively also known as #D2B48C (in hexadecimal))

— “Teal” (non-normatively also known as #008080 (in hexadecimal))

— “Thistle” (non-normatively also known as #D8BFD8 (in hexadecimal))

— “Tomato” (non-normatively also known as #FF6347 (in hexadecimal))

— “Turquoise” (non-normatively also known as #40E0D0 (in hexadecimal))

— “Violet” (non-normatively also known as #EE82EE (in hexadecimal))

— “Wheat” (non-normatively also known as #F5DEB3 (in hexadecimal))

— “White” (non-normatively also known as #FFFFFF (in hexadecimal))

— “WhiteSmoke” (non-normatively also known as #F5F5F5 (in hexadecimal))

— “Yellow” (non-normatively also known as #FFFF00 (in hexadecimal))

— “YellowGreen” (non-normatively also known as #9ACD32 (in hexadecimal))

— “clear” or “transparent” (both strings shall have the same meaning)

— “transparent-. . .” where the ellipsis shall be replaced by a subtoken naming a color and composed with no invisible characters, spaces, or hyphens (meaning simultaneously transparent (or translucent) and colored as specified in the substring naming a color)

— “custom-color”

— “custom-color-. . .” where the ellipsis shall be replaced by any subtoken composed with no invisible characters, spaces, or hyphens

Sec. 2.2.4: Tokens on Substance Weight

— “20#” (meaning 20-pound stock)

— weight in pounds as a decimal rational number followed by “#” (a hash mark) in accordance with an industry-standard weight for paper, not necessarily the actual weight of the paper

— “custom-weight”

— “custom-weight-. . .” where the ellipsis shall be replaced by any subtoken composed with no invisible characters, spaces, or hyphens and the user should be informed that this should refer to an industry-standard weight rather than the actual weight of the medium

Sec. 2.2.5: Tokens on Surface Treatment

— “letterhead”

— “page-2-letterhead” (meaning letterhead for any page except the first)

— “custom-surface”

— “custom-surface-. . .” where the ellipsis shall be replaced by any subtoken composed with no invisible characters, spaces, or hyphens and the user should be informed that this should refer to preprinting, watermarking, and other treatment of a surface of the medium

Sec. 2.3: Proposing Additional Content Attribute Value Tokens

Anyone may propose adding one or more tokens to one or more of the above lists. Such a proposal should include a description of the information that the token should represent and may include a string for the token. A proposal may be sent to a current author or editor of this specification via appropriate contact information that is linked to on this page.

Sec. 2.4: One or Multiple Elements

More than one HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “format-print” shall not be provided. If more than one such element is provided, all except the first such element shall be ignored.

Sec. 2.5: Interpretation of Content Attribute Value

The value of the content attribute shall be interpreted as one or more tokens in accordance with the lists of tokens provided above. Each token shall be interpreted case-insensitively. Each token should be presented to the user, an output reproducer, or both (it is not intended that any other destination for the token could exist for purposes of this specification). Each token being presented to the user should be presented in a form that is more explanatory than is the literal form but otherwise shall be presented in the literal form. A token that begins with “custom-” being presented to an output reproducer shall be ignored except optionally to inform the user that, at least, the relevant characteristic should be considered by the user before output reproduction. The relevant characteristic is, if the token has only one hyphen, that represented by the portion of the token following the hyphen or, if the token has two hyphens, that represented by the portion of the token following the first hyphen.

The absence of any token from a list above shall be interpreted so that an output reproducer shall reproduce with respect to the characteristic represented by that list as if there is no HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “format-print”. Thus, if the content attribute value is “letterhead” then the substance material shall be as specified by the HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “format-print” and the size, the color, the weight, and the surface treatment shall be as if there is no HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “format-print”, resulting in output reproduction on letterhead with the default size, color, weight, and surface treatment.

Sec. 3: Security, History, and Backwards Compatibility

This section is non-normative except as otherwise stated.

Sec. 3.1: Security

No security implication has been identified with respect to this specification.

Sec. 3.2: History

The original author and editor of this specification, except as otherwise stated, was Nick Levinson, who can be contacted through a link on this page.

A version of this specification was first published on https://wiki.whatwg.org/wiki/MetaExtensions on April 29, 2009, 9:00a, at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=3727 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=3727&oldid=3705); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1 and should now be so known. Version 1 was revised at June 28, 2009, 10:40a, at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=3810 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=3810&oldid=3732) into a version that was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.1 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.1 was revised on June 28, 2009, 10:43a, at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=3811 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=3811&oldid=3810); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.2 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.2 may or may not have been revised, but probably was not, in the course of being moved on the WHATWG MetaExtensions wiki page at January 16, 2011, 2:43p, at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=5908 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=5908&oldid=5604) into a version that was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.3 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.3 was revised on February 2, 2011, 6:50p, at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=6170 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=6170&oldid=6130); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.4 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.4 was revised on February 2, 2011, 6:50p, at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=6432 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=6432&oldid=6431); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.5 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.5 was revised at June 16, 2011, 8:17a, at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=6557 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=6557&oldid=6519) into a version that was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.6 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.6 was revised into version 2, which was published on this page on December 2, 2017. Version 2 was revised into version 2.0.1, published on this page on December 9, 2017. Version 2.0.1 was revised into version 2.0.2, published on this page on August 23, 2018. Version 2.0.2 was revised into this version, being published on November 6, 2022.

Th qis version (identified by number in section 1, above) was published on this page on December 2, 2017.

Discussion on the WHATWG wiki MetaExtensions Talk page occurred at the topic or section Re: Proposed 'format-print' MetaExtension.

Sec. 3.3: Backwards Compatibility

Backwards compatibility is intended.

Sec. 4: Intellectual Property For This Specification

Sec. 4.1: Copyright Status

Insofar as lawful, with respect to the CC0 1.0 Universal legal tool (herein “CC0”) (summarized at https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) (both URLs as accessed November 26, 2017) of the Creative Commons Corporation, Nick Levinson, the original author and editor of this specification, has, upon first publication of this specification, hereby become the Affirmer under CC0 and hereby elected to apply CC0 to this specification, to publicly distribute this specification, and to make this specification available, all such electing as provided for in CC0, and hereby waived, abandoned, surrendered, granted, affirmed, offered, and disclaimed, all such waiving, abandoning, surrendering, granting, affirming, offering, and disclaiming being with respect to this specification and being as provided for in CC0.

Sec. 4.2: Trademarks, Endorsements, and Associations

“Creative Commons” is a trademark of Creative Commons Corporation; use of such trademark does not imply endorsement by or association with Creative Commons Corporation.

“CC0” is a trademark of Creative Commons Corporation; use of such trademark does not imply endorsement by or association with Creative Commons Corporation.

Sec. 4.3: Other Claims

Except as otherwise referenced, the original author and editor of this specification, Nick Levinson, is not aware of any claim by any other person or entity to intellectual property adversely affecting this specification.

Sec. 5: Section Titles Not Restrictive

Titles of sections, including subsections at all subsectional depths, are provided solely for convenience and do not restrict the meaning of the content of the respective sections. Titles of sections include headlines of sections.