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<graphic> Graphic

Description of and pointer to an external file containing a still image.

The external file associated with a <graphic> holds a picture, illustration, etc., and is usually some form of binary object. The “content” of the <graphic> element (if any) is not the object itself, but merely information about the object and a pointer to an external file. The external file that contains the object is named by the @xlink:href attribute.

It is considered Best Practice to tag unlabeled graphics (no label such as “Figure 4.”) as <graphic> elements, rather than as <fig> elements. A common test to determine whether an object is a <fig> versus a <graphic> is to ask, “If there were a List of Figures for this document, should this object appear in that list?”

Although this Tag Set cannot enforce it, the element <graphic> should be limited to still images. The element <media> should be reserved for objects that involve video, audio, moving images, time-dependent graphical types, and other non-XML data types. Such external objects should take a @mimetype, when possible.

Display component elements, such as <caption>, should always be used at the highest possible level; in other words, if a <graphic> element is inside a <fig> element, the <caption>, <long-desc>, etc., should be part of the <fig>, not part of the <graphic> element. Use a <caption> element (and similar display component elements) on a <graphic> only when the graphic is not enclosed in any other structure or when a figure contains multiple graphics, each of which must have its own <caption>.

For similar reasons, the @position attribute should be set to “anchor” for a <graphic> element contained inside a larger display container such as a <fig>.

For Best Practice, a <graphic> that is not inside a <fig> or <table-wrap> should contain both <alt-text> and <long-desc>, which are especially important to enable access for visually impaired users. For graphics inside another element (such as a <fig>), the containing element typically holds the accessibility elements, although in rare cases the accessibility elements may need to be used in both places. For usage notes and recommendations, see Accessibility.

Anchoring Graphics (@position)

Although the @position attribute of this element may be used to indicate whether this element must be anchored at its exact location within the text or it may float, it is good practice to anchor all loose graphics. All the graphics inside figures, tables, etc., should be anchored as well, although the outer structure (figure, boxed text) may be allowed to float.

Related Elements

Basic Non-text Elements — This Suite contains several elements that can describe and point to non-textual content: <graphic>, <inline-graphic>, <media>, and <inline-media>. These elements appear in the flow of the document, and the material they describe and point to is assumed to be integral to the document, unless flagged with the @supplemental attribute. “Integral” means that the object is logically necessary to the content of the document, although stored as an external file.

The elements <graphic> and <inline-graphic> contain a pointer to a still image (such as a photograph, diagram, line drawing, etc.). The elements <media> and <inline-media> contain a pointer to a non-textual object (typically a binary such as an audio clip, dataset, or animation that cannot be displayed in print)

Supplementary Material — In contrast to the four non-textual elements just described, <supplementary-material> and <inline-supplementary-material> always describe and point to objects that are considered to be “supplementary” (non-integral) to the content of the article.

orientation (default = portrait)

position (default = float)

xlink:href (REQUIRED)

May be contained in

The following, in order:

<object-id> Object Identifier, zero or one
Any combination of:
- Accessibility Elements
  - <alt-text> Alternate Text Name (for a figure, etc.)
  - <long-desc> Long Description
<legend> Legend, zero or more
<xref> X (cross) Reference, zero or more
<custom-meta-group> Custom Metadata Group, zero or more
Ownership Elements
- <attrib> Attribution, zero or one
- <permissions> Permissions, zero or more

<!ELEMENT  graphic      %graphic-model;                              >

((object-id)?, (alt-text | long-desc)*, (legend)*, (xref)*,
(custom-meta-group)*, attrib?, (permissions)*)

... 
<fig id="f1" orientation="portrait" position="float">
 <graphic xlink:href="f1"/>
 <attrib>Brookhaven National Laboratory</attrib>
</fig>
...

... 
<fig id="f8" orientation="portrait" position="float">
 <caption>
  <p>Time difference between events F and A as a function of the 
   length of entering plug for bifurcations B to BXXX, where X stands 
   for 0 or 1.</p>
 </caption>
 <graphic orientation="portrait" position="float" xlink:href="f8"/>
</fig>
...

...
<sec sec-type="results">
 <title>Results</title>
 <p>We identified 703 abstracts, of which 687 were 
  not relevant ... Details of randomisation procedures,
  treatment schedules, and numbers of patients followed
  up are given on the <italic>BMJ</italic> website.</p>
 <fig id="F1">
  <caption>
   <title>Deaths among patients receiving day hospital care
    or alternative services.</title>
   <p>Odds ratios of death by end of follow up were calculated by 
    fixed effects model. Heterogeneity between trials is presented as
    χ<sup>2</sup></p>
  </caption>
  <alt-text>Deaths in hospitals or with alternative services</alt-text>
  <graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
    xlink:href="fors2662.f1">
   <object-id>456472</object-id>
  </graphic>
 </fig>
 ...
</sec>
...

... 
<body>
 <graphic specific-use="online" position="anchor" 
   xlink:href="prodbe.int.aip.org:8080/journal/journal_fs/
   1.2983775.1373315697!/images/1460725790.jpg"/>
 ...
</body>
...

... 
<table-wrap id="t14">
 ...
 <table frame="box" rules="all" cellpadding="5"> 
  ...
  <tr valign="bottom">
   <td align="left" colspan="1" rowspan="1">3</td>
   <td align="char" char="." charoff="35%" colspan="1" rowspan="1">14.4411</td>
   <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
    <graphic id="g14" orientation="portrait" position="anchor" xlink:href="d14"/></td>
   <td align="char" char="." charoff="35%" colspan="1" rowspan="1">14.4411</td>
   <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
    <graphic id="g15" orientation="portrait" position="anchor" xlink:href="d15"/></td>
   <td align="char" char="." charoff="35%" colspan="1" rowspan="1">14.4414</td>
   <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
    <graphic id="g16" orientation="portrait" position="anchor" xlink:href="d16"/></td>
   <td align="char" char="." charoff="35%" colspan="1" rowspan="1">14.4414</td>
   <td align="center" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
    <graphic id="g17" orientation="portrait" position="anchor" xlink:href="d17"/></td>
  </tr>
 </table>
</table-wrap>  
...

Related Resources

See: Tagging Figures/Graphics/Media
See: Hierarchy diagram - Graphic

Article Authoring Tag Library NISO JATS Version 1.4 (ANSI/NISO Z39.96-2024)

<graphic> Graphic

Usage/Remarks

Graphic versus Figure

Graphic versus Media

Put Display Components at Highest Level Possible

Accessibility

Multi-lang Attributes

Base Attributes

Linking Attributes

Namespaces