HTML <isindex> Tag
The <isindex> tag was used to define a single-line text input field for search queries in the current document. The tag is placed inside the <head> element.
DANGER
The <isindex> is a deprecated HTML tag that is obsolete in the HTML specification and unsupported by modern browsers. To define a single-line input field, use the <input> tag with the <label> tag.
Modern Alternative
To create a search input field today, use a <form> with an <input type="search">:
<form action="/search" method="get">
<label for="search">Search:</label>
<input type="search" id="search" name="q" placeholder="Search a text">
<button type="submit">Go</button>
</form>The <isindex> tag wasn’t implemented consistently across browsers in previous versions of HTML, and it has been obsolete since then. When placed inside <head>, the browser would interpret it as a directive to provide a search function for the document. However, modern browsers already include a built-in Find feature, making this tag unnecessary.
Syntax
The <isindex> tag is void, which means that a closing tag isn’t required. However, in XHTML, the <isindex> tag must be self-closed (<isindex />).
Example of the HTML <isindex> tag:
HTML <isindex> tag
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<isindex prompt="Search a text" />
</head>
</html>Attributes
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| prompt | hint-text | Specifies the text string displayed in front of the search query input field. If omitted, the browser displays its own default text. |
| action | URL | Specifies the URL to which the form data is submitted. |
The <isindex> tag supports the Global Attributes and the Event Attributes.
Practice
What is true about the HTML <isindex> tag based on the information presented at www.w3docs.com?