HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, 6th Edition

Ordered Lists

Use an ordered list when the sequence of the list items is important. A list of instructions is a good example, as are tables of contents and lists of document footnotes or endnotes.

The <ol> Tag

The typical browser formats the contents of an ordered list just like an unordered list, except that the items are numbered rather than bulleted. The numbering starts at one and is incremented by one for each successive ordered list element tagged with <li>. [<li>, 7.3]

<ol>

Function	Defines an ordered list
Attributes	class, compact, dir, id, lang, onClick, onDblClick, onKeyDown, onKeyPress, onKeyUp, onMouseDown, onMouseMove, onMouseOut, onMouseOver, onMouseUp, start, style, title, type
End tag	</ol>; never omitted
Contains	list_content
Used in	block

HTML 3.2 introduced a number of features that provide a wide variety of ordered lists. You can change the start value of the list and select from five different numbering styles.

Here is a sample XHTML ordered list:

<h3>Pickled Kumquats</h3>
Here's an easy way to make a delicious batch of pickled 'quats:
<ol>
  <li>Rinse 50 pounds of fresh kumquats</li>
  <li>Bring eight gallons white vinegar to rolling boil</li>
  <li>Add kumquats gradually, keeping vinegar boiling</li>
  <li>Boil for one hour, or until kumquats are tender</li>
  <li>Place in sealed jars and enjoy!</li>
</ol>

Opera renders the example as shown in Figure 7-2.

Figure 7-2. An ...