`<desc>`

A description is a statement that describes or contains additional information about an object.

Usage information

The following list outlines common uses of the <desc> element:

<table> and <fig>: Provides more information than can be contained in the title
<xref> and <link>: Provides a description of the target
<object>: Provides alternate content to use when the context does not permit the object to be displayed

Rendering expectations

When used in conjunction with <fig> or <table> elements, processors SHOULD consider the content of <desc> elements to be part of the content flow.

When used in conjunction with <xref> or <link> elements, processors often render the content of <desc> elements as hover help or other forms of link preview.

Content model

(Text | <dl> | <div> | <image> | <lines> | <lq> | <note> | <ol> | <p> | <pre> | <sl> | <ul> | <cite> | <include> | <keyword> | <ph> | <q> | <term> | <text> | <tm> | <xref> | <data> | <draft-comment> | <foreign> | <required-cleanup>)*

Contained by

<audio>, <fig>, <link>, <linklist>, <object>, <table>, <video>, <xref>

Zero or more of the following

Contained by

Inheritance

- topic/desc

The <desc> element is a base element type. It is defined in the topic module.

Attributes

The following attributes are available on this element: universal attributes.

Examples

This section is non-normative.

This section contains examples of how the <desc> element can be used.

Example 1. Description of a figure

In the following code sample, the <figure> element contains a reference to an image of a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. The <title> element provides the name of the painting, while the <desc> element contains information about when the portrait is thought to have been painted.

<fig>
  <title>Mona Lisa</title>
  <desc>Circa 1503–06, perhaps continuing until 1517</desc>
  <image href="mona-lisa.jpg">
    <alt>Photograph of Mona Lisa painting</alt> 
  </image>
</fig>

Example 2. Description of a cross reference

In the following code sample, the <link> element contains a <desc> element. Some processors might render the content of the <desc> element as hover help.

<link keyref="dita-13-02">
  <linktext>DITA 1.3 Errata 02</linktext>
  <desc>Final errata version of DITA 1.3, published 19 June 2018</desc>
</link>