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4.10.1 Preformatted Text

The PRE element is used to enclose text to be displayed with a fixed width typewriter-like font. This is useful for presenting text that has been formatted for a teletype, or for a fixed width character display.

In particular, as standard HTML does not contain a TABLE element the PRE element is the only way in which structured tables can be properly displayed.

PRE takes one optional attribute: WIDTH. This specifies the maximum number of characters that can be displayed on a single line. A default value of 80 is often assumed, but this depends on the browser. Mosaic, for example, ignores the WIDTH attribute completely.

Things to Avoid: You should NOT use elements that define paragraph formatting within the PRE element. This means you should not use <P>, <ADDRESS>, <Hn> and so on. You should avoid the use of tab characters -- use single blank characters to space text apart.
Things That are OK: You can use Anchor. A typed carriage return will cause a new line in the presented text.

Example

The following text:

<PRE WIDTH=30>
Hi there.  This is a rather stupid example.
Lord only knows what I was thinking at the time.  I 
suppose I should get more sleep when I do this stuff. But 
why should I try and write Shakespearean sonnets when it is 
just a stupid example of the <A HREF="pre.html">PRE</A> element!
</PRE>

is rendered:

Hi there.  This is a rather stupid example.
Lord only knows what I was thinking at the time.  I 
suppose I should get more sleep when I do this stuff. But 
why should I try and write Shakespearean sonnets when it is 
just a stupid example of the PRE element!

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