PRB: </PLAINTEXT> Closing Tag Is Ignored in IE4

ID: Q182733

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

Internet Explorer 4.0x (IE4) does not close the <PLAINTEXT> container like Internet Explorer 3.0x does.

Please note that the <PLAINTEXT> tag has been marked as an obsolete tag by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).


RESOLUTION

Use the <PRE> tag and display all reserved characters (such as brackets) with their corresponding HTML character entities.


STATUS

This behavior is by design.


MORE INFORMATION

The <PLAINTEXT> tag was designed to render all of a Web page's subsequent text without parsing any tags, including its own </PLAINTEXT> tag. IE4 supports this tag as it is defined by the HTML specification. This element is not recommended as different browsers may not support it consistently. Instead, use the <PRE> tag and display all reserved characters (such as brackets) with their corresponding HTML character entities.

The <XMP> and <LISTING> elements are not recommended substitutes, as they are legacies of the original HTML 1.0 specification that will eventually not be supported by Web browsers. Using <PRE> will assure that your content is displayed accurately on all browsers, now and in the future.


REFERENCES

For more information, please see the MSDN Web Workshop:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/default.asp

HTML 4.0 Spec, section A.1.3 Obsolete elements: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC- html40-971218/appendix/changes.html#h-A.1.3

Additional query words: PRE LISTING 


Keywords          : kbIE500 AXSDKMisc 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0,4.01
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: April 30, 1999