<img start="">
- Attribute of
- HTML Tags Guide To Adding Images To Your Web Documents
- What does
<img start="">
do? - Was used in conjunction with the dynsrc attribute to add a video that would load in supported browsers in the place of the image that would otherwise be displayed.
Contents
Images, Videos, and dynsrc
Before HTML supported native video playback, one of the early attempts for accommodating video into HTML documents was by overloading the <img>
element with a video file. The video file was specified in a special attribute called dynsrc
(dynamic source). The idea was that if your browser supported dynsrc
video playback, you would see the video — otherwise, you would just see the image as specified in the src
attribute.
<!-- This will not work in any browser. You will just see the static image. --> <img src="/wp-content/uploads/flamingo.jpg" dynsrc="wp-content/uploads/flamingo-movie.mp4">

The start
attribute
The start
attribute allowed you to specify an event which would trigger the video to begin playback. For example, you could indicate that the movie should play as soon as the browser finishes opening the file:
<!-- This will not work in any browser. You will just see the static image. --> <img src="/wp-content/uploads/flamingo.jpg" dynsrc="wp-content/uploads/flamingo-movie.mp4" src="fileopen">
None of this matters anymore, because the dynsrc
attribute, and all related features have been deprecated in HTML5.
The HTML5 Way to Embed Video
Embedding video today is as easy as using the new <video>
element. You can even specify an image as a fallback, in case the browser doesn’t support HTML5 video.
<video controls> <!-- One or more video sources. The browser will select the best option. --> <source src="/wp-content/uploads/flamingo-movie.mp4"> <!-- Anything outside of a source element will be seen if HTML5 video is not supported. --> <img src="/wp-content/uploads/flamingo.jpg" alt="Fallback Flamingo."> </video>
For more information about HTML5 video, see our documentation on the <video>
and <source>
elements, as well as our tutorial on Media in HTML5.
Autoplay on HTML5 Video
The closest equivalent to the start
attribute in HTML5 video is the autoplay
attribute. When present, the video will begin playing immediately.
<video autoplay> <!-- One or more video sources. The browser will select the best option. --> <source src="/wp-content/uploads/flamingo-movie.mp4"> <!-- Anything outside of a source element will be seen if HTML5 video is not supported. --> <img src="/wp-content/uploads/flamingo.jpg" alt="Fallback Flamingo."> </video>
Values of the start
Attribute
Value Name | Notes |
---|---|
fileopen | Indicated that the video defined in the `dynsrc` attribute should begin playback immediately. The `dynsrc` method of video play back has been deprecated. |
mouseover | Indicated that the video defined in the `dynsrc` attribute should begin playback when the user mouses over the video pane. The `dynsrc` method of video play back has been deprecated. |
All Attributes of img
Element
Attribute name | Values | Notes |
---|---|---|
height | Identifies the intrinsic height of an image file, in CSS pixels. | |
srcset | list of sources | Defines multiple sizes of the same image, allowing the browser to select the appropriate image source. |
align | right left | Was previously used to specify the alignment and placement of an image relative to the surrounding text. It has been deprecated and should not be used. |
alt | text | Defines alternate text, which may be presented in place of the image. |
border | pixels | Previously used to define a border on an image element. It has been deprecated and should no longer be used. |
controls | Toggled media player controls when used in conjunction with the <code>dynsrc</code> attribute. Both attributes are now deprecated. | |
dynsrc | ||
hspace | Previously used to add horizontal space on both side of an image. It is now deprecated. | |
ismap | Identifies an image as a server-side image map. When the containing anchor link is clicked, the coordinates of the mouse will be included in the request. | |
longdesc | Defines a URL at which can be found more information about the image. It was written out of the HTML5 specification, but its status is not quite so clear as other deprecated features. | |
loop | Previously used to specify the number of times a video should play, when used in conjunction with the dynsource attribute. Both attributes have been deprecated. | |
lowsrc | Specified a smaller or lower-quality version of an image. | |
name | Identified the image or provided additional information about it. Deprecated in HTML 4.0 in favor of other attributes. | |
naturalsizeflag | This attribute does nothing. It was once used by a proprietary software system. | |
nosave | Was intended to prevent users from downloading an image. Was never a part of the HTML specification, and not widely implemented. | |
start | fileopen mouseover | |
suppress | Used by the now-defunct Netscape browser to suppress the display of image prior to image download completion. | |
usemap | Specifies a client-side image map to be used with the image. | |
width | Indicates the intrinsic width of the image, in CSS pixels. | |
src | Specifies the URL of an image to be displayed. |
Browser Support for start
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Not supported. | Not supported. | Not supported. | Not supported. | Not supported. | Not supported. |