What does a <span> tag do?

This sounds silly but I don't seem to get the answer clearly over the web ...but what does a <span> tag actually do? Must it always be placed in a <td> or can it be stand alone?

the span tag doesnt actually do anything. Actually it does do some things

by its self it does nothing.

but you can specify classes and css, inside it, align align test

Hi Tim,
A <span> tag is like an invisible sheet if you will. It can encompass many items and is mainly used for formatting, like this:

<span class="myClass">Hello There</span>

Now, if we had a .CSS file with a myClass class in it like this:

.myClass
{
color: red;
border: solid 1pt black;
}

... then the "Hello There" text would be red and surrounded with a 1pt wide black bored. Span's are alot like <div> tags, and can be used to align: <span align="right">test</span>, etc.

think of it as a container

con·tain·er Pronunciation Key (kn-tnr)
n.
A receptacle, such as a carton, can, or jar, in which material is held or carried.
A large reusable receptacle that can accommodate smaller cartons or cases in a single shipment, designed for efficient handling of cargo.


Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

container

\Con*tain"er\, n. One who, or that which, contains.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

container

n : something that holds things, especially for transport or storage
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University

Because i can eheh

The difference b/t a <DIV> and a <SPAN> is that a div contains the newline character ("\n"), and a span doesn't. So take your pick... Oh yeah, <DIV> was originally a Netscape tag, and <SPAN> was originally an IE tag (their version)......

Cheers,
Joe of 4Life

i htink hes got the idea..tahnk to bens quality explanation!