existing-rel-values

existing rel values

usage

rel values indicate the relationship of the target resource to the resource on which they appear. In microformats, rel are used on links (e.g. <a rel="home" href="http://example.org">). Elsewhere, they are also used on link headers (e.g. <link rel= start href="http://example.org/section/page1.htm">.

Multiple values may be used, in the same manner as multiple class values (e.g. <a rel="home me contents" href="http://example.org">).

rev

In (X)HTML, the same values may be used as rev ("reverse relationship") values, to indicate the relationship of resource on which they appear to the target resource. Such use (apart from the "grand-fathered" case of VoteLinks) is deprecated in microformats.

formats

These rel values are defined formats from specifications (HTML 4, microformats) are thus are recommended for general use. Alphabetically ordered by value.

Note: this list is incomplete, please help complete it from the following sources:

• HTML 4 link type
• xfn and other microformats

rel value	summary	defining specification
alternate	...	HTML4 link type
appendix	...	HTML4 link type
author	...	???
bookmark	...	HTML4 link type
chapter	...	HTML4 link type
contents	...	HTML4 link type
copyright	...	HTML4 link type
friend	the person represented by the current document considers the person represented by the refrenced document to be a friend	XFN
glossary	...	HTML4 link type
help	...	HTML4 link type
index	...	HTML4 link type
me	the referenced document represents the same person as the current document	XFN
home	the referenced document is the homepage of the site in which the current page appears.	rel-home
license	the referenced document is license information for the current page.	rel-license
next	the next document in a navigation order	HTML4 link type
prev	the previous document in a navigation order	HTML4 link type
previous	Synonym of prev	HTML4 link type
schema	...	???
section	...	HTML4 link type
start	...	HTML4 link type
stylesheet	a style sheet for the current document	HTML4 link type
subsection	...	HTML4 link type
tag	the referenced document represents a "tag", which is like a keyword or category label, for the current document	rel-tag
toc	("Table Of Contents") Synonym of contents	HTML4 link type

notes

• rel="alternate" can take further meaning from additional attributes, such as rel="alternate" lang="fr" (French language version of this page); rel="alternate" media="print" (printable version of this page) etc.

• Synonyms such as "previous" are not as widely supported as the main term.

brainstorming

Several rel values are being brainstormed as potential microformats and are thus listed here. If you find you have a use for such semantics in real world examples, consider trying out these values and provide feedback on the respective brainstorming page(s) with your results/experience.

Sources: group-brainstorming, ...

rel value	summary	proposed in
group	the referenced document represents a group that the person represented by the current document belongs to	group-brainstorming
member	the referenced document represents a member of the group represented by the current document	group-brainstorming

dropped

The following rel values were in earlier version(s) of specification(s) and it is presumed by their absence from the most recent version of the respective specification(s) that they have been deprecated or obsoleted. Use of them could be considered a bit more standard than just POSH, although you may wish to research why such values were omitted from latter specifications before using them. If you do discover the reasoning, please add a short statement or link to thereof into the appropriate place in the following table.

Sources: HTML3 (expired!) - (has been superceded by HTML 3.2 - which itself has been superceded by HTML 4.0 - which itself has been updated by HTML 4.01, commonly referred to as "HTML 4" in this wiki and other places.)

rel value	summary	defining specification	why dropped
up	When the document forms part of a hierarchy, this link references the immediate parent of the current document.	HTML 3	unknown

POSH usage

There are numerous rel values used as POSH in the wild, their origins are not necessarily known, nor are their meanings consistent, but it may still be useful to document their existence and summarize their implied meanings/usage intent.

rel value	summary	origin
archive	an archive document for the current blog	unknown origin

tools

See implementations.

related

• rel-examples
• rel-faq

• elemental-microformats
• existing-class-names