HTML <keygen/> Tag

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The <keygen/> Tag in HTML 5

The <keygen> tag is one of the tags for interactive content in HTML.

<keygen/> Tag Syntax

<body>
   ...
   ... flow content expected ...
   <form id="form-id" method="GET|POST|etc." action="target-URL">
      ... phrasing content expected ...<keygen/>...
      ...
   </form>
   ...
   ... phrasing content expected ...<keygen form="form-id"/>...
   ...
</body>

Rules for coding HTML keygen elements

Make sure you understand the difference between a tag and element and are familiar with the definitions of namespace and other HTML terms.

Code the keygen element where phrasing content is expected, usually inside a form element.
Begin the keygen element with a starting <keygen> tag. The element name uses lower case letters and should be in the HTML namespace, which it will pick up automatically from the xmlns attribute on the <html> tag.
If the field is for a form that can be submitted but is outside that form element, include a form attribute referencing the form the keygen is to be associated with.
Include any other attributes on the <keygen> tag as appropriate.
Inside the keygen element, between the starting <keygen> tag and the ending </keygen> tag, code the inner HTML phrasing content.
End the keygen element with a matching </keygen> closing tag.

<keygen/> Content Model

Contents of the keygen element

Content: Empty. All properties are coded using attributes.

Since the <keygen/> tag is a void element, it is not allowed to have any content, even HTML comments and therefore should always be coded as a self-closing standalone tag, ending with the delimiters /> rather than just > (<keygen .../>).

<keygen/> Tag Attributes

Attributes of the <keygen/> tag

global attributes	In addition to the personal attributes of the <keygen/> tag below, any of the common HTML attributes can also be coded.
`autofocus="autofocus"`
`challenge`
`disabled="disabled"`
`form`
`keytype="rsa"`
`name`

<keygen/> Tag Examples

Examples of the <keygen/> tag in HTML 5

Changes in HTML 5 - <keygen/> Tag

What's new in HTML 5

Differences between HTML 5 and earlier versions of HTML

The <keygen/> tag did not exist in older versions of HTML.

The 2000-2010 Recommendations from the W3C HTML Working Group defined the HTML namespace for the names of all HTML element types, which now includes the keygen element name. In older (pre-2000) versions of HTML, element type names were not associated with a namespace.

Valid HTML 5