Remarks

The “content” of the <media> element is not the media object itself, but information concerning the object. The external file that contains the object is named by the @xlink:href attribute.

Position: The @position attribute may be used to indicate whether this element must be anchored at its exact location within the text or whether it may float, but best practice is to anchor graphics and media objects. The few media objects that float loose in text should be anchored there, and all the media objects inside figures, tables, etc., should be anchored as well, although the outer structure (figure, boxed text) may be allowed to float.

Usage: Display component elements, such as <caption>, should always be used at the highest possible level; in other words, if a <media> element is inside a <fig> element, the <caption>, <long-desc>, etc., should be part of the <fig>, not part of the <media> element. Use a <caption> element on a <media> only when the media object is not enclosed in any other structure or when a figure contains multiple media objects, each of which must have its own <caption>. For similar reasons, the @position attribute should be set to “anchor” for a <media> element that is inside a larger display container such as a <fig>.