Parent Elements

background (§2.2.1); group (§6.1.2.7); object (§2.3.3.19); pict (§2.3.3.21); pict (§2.9.23)

Child Elements

Subclause

anchorlock (Anchor Location Is Locked)

§6.3.2.1

borderbottom (Bottom Border)

§6.3.2.2

borderleft (Left Border)

§6.3.2.3

borderright (Right Border)

§6.3.2.4

bordertop (Top Border)

§6.3.2.5

callout (Callout)

§6.2.2.2

ClientData (Attached Object Data)

§6.4.2.12

clippath (Shape Clipping Path)

§6.2.2.3

extrusion (3D Extrusion)

§6.2.2.10

fill (Shape Fill Properties)

§6.1.2.5

formulas (Set of Formulas)

§6.1.2.6

handles (Set of Handles)

§6.1.2.9

imagedata (Image Data)

§6.1.2.11

lock (Shape Protections)

§6.2.2.17

path (Shape Path)

§6.1.2.14

shadow (Shadow Effect)

§6.1.2.18

signatureline (Digital Signature Line)

§6.2.2.29

skew (Skew Transform)

§6.2.2.30

stroke (Line Stroke Settings)

§6.1.2.21

textbox (Text Box)

§6.1.2.22

textdata (VML Diagram Text)

§6.5.2.2

textpath (Text Layout Path)

§6.1.2.23

wrap (Text Wrapping)

§6.3.2.6

Attributes

Description

allowincell (Allow in Table Cell)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether a shape can be placed in a table. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:allowincell="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

allowoverlap (Allow Shape Overlap)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether a shape can overlap another shape. Default is true. If false, the shape will shift left or right so as not to overlap another shape, similar to the behavior of the HTML float attribute.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:allowoverlap="false" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

alt (Alternate Text)

Specifies alternative text describing the graphical object. This text should provide a brief description of the shape for use by accessibility tools. Default is no value.

[Example: The alt text describes the basic shape:

<v:shape ... fillcolor="red"

alt="Red rectangle">

</v:shape>

The alt text describes the contents of a shape displaying an image:

<v:shape ... alt="Picture of a sunset">

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

borderbottomcolor (Bottom Border Color)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the bottom border color of an inline shape. Default is no value.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:borderbottomcolor="red" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

borderleftcolor (Border Left Color)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the left border color of an inline shape. Default is no value.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:borderleftcolor="red" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

borderrightcolor (Border Right Color)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the right border color of an inline shape. Default is no value.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:borderrightcolor="red" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

bordertopcolor (Border Top Color)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the top border color of an inline shape. Default is no value.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:bordertopcolor="red" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

bullet (Graphical Bullet)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether the shape is a graphical bullet. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:bullet="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

button (Button Behavior Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether a shape will exhibit button press behavior on click. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:button="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

bwmode (Black-and-White Mode)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies how a shape will render for black-and-white output devices. When a shape is printed on a black-and-white printer or displayed in a black-and-white view in an application, several options are possible. Default is auto, which will use o:bwnormal for normal black-and-white rendering and o:bwpure for pure black-and-white rendering.

bwnormal and bwpure are subordinate to bwmode.  If bwmode is "auto" then the value for bwnormal or bwpure is used depending on what the output format is.  An application may define for itself what, if any, difference there is between normal B&W and pure B&W.  For example, normal B&W might allow greyscale and pure B&W might not.

[Example: This shape renders in grayscale in a black-and-white environment:

<v:shape ... o:bwmode="grayscale" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_BWMode simple type (§6.2.3.2).

bwnormal (Normal Black-and-White Mode)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the black-and-white mode for normal black-and-white output devices. Default is auto.

[Example: This shape renders in a pale grayscale in a normal black-and-white environment:

<v:shape ... o:bwmode="auto" o:bwnormal="lightgrayscale" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_BWMode simple type (§6.2.3.2).

bwpure (Pure Black-and-White Mode)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the black-and-white mode for pure black-and-white output devices. Default is auto.

[Example: This shape renders in high contrast when in a pure black-and-white environment:

<v:shape ... o:bwmode="auto" o:bwpure="highcontrast" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_BWMode simple type (§6.2.3.2).

chromakey (Image Transparency Color)

Specifies a color value that will be transparent and show anything behind the shape. Default is no value.

[Example:

<v:image ... chromakey="white" ...>

</v:image>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_ColorType simple type (§6.1.3.1).

class (CSS Reference)

Specifies a reference to the definition of a CSS style. Default is no value.

[Example: The snippets below are equivalent:

...

.narrowstyle {width:50;height:100}

...

<v:shape ... class="narrowstyle"

style="top:1;left:1">

</v:shape>

<v:shape ... style="top:1;left:1;

width:50;height:100">

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

clip (Clipping Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies that the clipping region is active. This is used in conjunction with the clippath (§6.2.2.3) element to create a clipping region.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:clip="true">

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

cliptowrap (Clip to Wrapping Polygon)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies that the clipping region for the shape aligns with the wrapping polygon that tightly surrounds the entire shape (essentially, that the shape shall not be drawn beyond its wrapping polygon's extents – if it does, the shape shall be clipped). Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:cliptowrap="true">

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

connectortype (Shape Connector Type)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the type of connector used for joining shapes. Default is straight.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:connectortype="elbow" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_ConnectorType simple type (§6.2.3.6).

control1 (First Curve Control Point)

Specifies the first control point for the curve, given in the coordinate space of the parent element. Default is "10,10". If the parent is not a VML element, the default unit is a pixel. Allowed units are in, cm, mm, pt, pc and px.

[Example:

<v:curve ... control1="20,30" ... >

</v:curve>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

control2 (Second Curve Control Point)

Specifies the second control point for the curve, given in the coordinate space of the parent element. Default is "20,0". If the parent is not a VML element, the default unit is a pixel. Allowed units are in, cm, mm, pt, pc and px.

[Example:

<v:curve ... control2="50,20" ... >

</v:curve>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

coordorigin (Coordinate Space Origin)

Specifies the coordinate of the top left corner of the shape's coordinate space. This determines the position of the (0,0) coordinate space origin within the shape's bounding box. Default is "0,0", which places the (0,0) origin at the top left corner of the bounding box.

This affects shape properties that specify coordinate positions, such as the path attribute. Thus a path can be defined against a generic (0,0) origin and the coordorigin value translates the entire path within the shape's bounding space.

[Example: The horizontal and vertical coordinate space ranges from -100 to +100 because the coordinate space (coordsize) is 200 by 200 and the top left coordinate is (-100,-100). The (0,0) origin lies at the center of the shape's bounding box, as evidenced by the position of the shape's path within the coordinate space:

<v:shape ... coordsize="200,200"

coordorigin="-100,-100"

path="m 0,0 l 0,50, 50,50, 50,0 x e">

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

coordsize (Coordinate Space Size)

Specifies the size of the shape's coordinate space in coordinate units. Default is "1000,1000".

The physical size of a coordinate unit length is determined by both the size of the coordinate space (coordsize) and the size of the shape (style width and height). The coordsize attribute defines the number of horizontal and vertical subdivisions into which the shape's bounding box is divided. The combination of coordsize and style width/height effective scales the shape anisotropically.

[Example: The path is 50 units wide and tall, which is 25% of the size of the coordinate space:

<v:shape ... coordsize="200,200"

coordorigin="-100,-100"

path="m 0,0 l 0,50, 50,50, 50,0 x e">

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

dgmlayout (Diagram Node Layout Identifier)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the type of automatic layout to apply to the diagram node. This is only meaningful for organization charts. Valid values for organization charts are:

[Example:

<v:shape ... dgmlayout="1">

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema integer datatype.

dgmlayoutmru (Diagram Node Recent Layout Identifier)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the type of automatic layout most recently used on the child elements of the diagram node. This is only meaningful for organization charts. Valid values for organization charts are:

[Example:

<v:shape ... dgmlayout="1">

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema integer datatype.

dgmnodekind (Diagram Node Identifier)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies an optional, application-specific parameter that is intended to be used by the application to tag different types of nodes in a diagram.

[Example:

<v:shape ... dgmnodekind="1">

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema integer datatype.

doubleclicknotify (Double-click Notification Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies that an event message is sent when a shape is double-clicked. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:doubleclicknotify="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

fillcolor (Fill Color)

Specifies the color to use for the fill. Default is white. If the fill element (§6.1.2.5) is present, its color attribute takes precedence. Colors are typically specified as either a named color, such as red, or six hexadecimal digits representing the red, green and blue values of the color, such as #00FF30. Full details are specified in the simple type description.

[Example: This shape is red if its fill is visible:

<v:shape ... fillcolor="red" ... >

</v:shape>

This is equivalent to:

<v:shape ... fillcolor="#ff0000" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_ColorType simple type (§6.1.3.1).

filled (Shape Fill Toggle)

Specifies whether the closed path will be filled. Default is true. This attribute is overridden by the fill on attribute.

[Example:

<v:shape ... filled="f"

fillcolor="red" ...>

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.1.3.14).

forcedash (Force Dashed Outline)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether a dashed outline is used to draw a shape when a shape has no line or fill. Default is false.

Used by PresentationML placeholders to draw a dashed outline when there is no line and no fill for a shape.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:forcedash="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

from (Curve Starting Point)

Specifies the starting point of the line in the coordinate space of the parent element. Default is "0,0". If the parent is not a VML element, the default unit is a pixel. Allowed units are in, cm, mm, pt, pc and px.

[Example:

<v:curve ... from="10,10" ... >

</v:curve>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

hr (Horizontal Rule Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies that a shape is a horizontal rule. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:hr="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

hralign (Horizontal Rule Alignment)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the alignment of a horizontal rule. Default is left.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:hralign="center" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_HrAlign simple type (§6.2.3.14).

href (Hyperlink Target)

Specifies a hyperlink URL target for the shape. Default is no value.

[Example:

<v:shape ... href="http://www.openxmlformats.org" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

hrnoshade (Horizontal Rule 3D Shading Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies that the horizontal rule does not have 3-D shading. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:hrnoshade="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

hrpct (Horizontal Rule Length Percentage)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies the length of a horizontal rule as a percentage of page width. Default is 0.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:hrpct="85" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema float datatype.

hrstd (Horizontal Rule Standard Display Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether a shape is displayed as a standard horizontal rule. Only applies if hr is true. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:hrstd="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

id (Unique Identifier)

Specifies a unique identifier that can be used to reference a VML object.

Default is no value.

[Example:

<v:shape ... id="myShape" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

insetmode (Text Inset Mode)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether the application calculates the internal text margin instead of using the inset attribute. Default is custom. This attribute is only meaningful for text boxes.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:insetmode="auto" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_InsetMode simple type (§6.2.3.15).

insetpen (Inset Border From Path)

Specifies that the border shall be displayed inside of the path defining the shape, rather than along the path (the default border placement), or outside of the path as might be done with an image.

[Example:

<v:shape ... insetpen="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.1.3.14).

ole (Embedded Object Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether the shape is an embedded object. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:ole="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalseBlank simple type (§6.2.3.24).

oleicon (Embedded Object Icon Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether an embedded object will be displayed as an icon. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:oleicon="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

oned (Shape Handle Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether the extra handles of a shape are hidden. If true, hides all shape handles except the top left and bottom right; that is, the same handles that are used for a straight line segment. Default is false.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:oned="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

opacity (Fill Color Opacity)

Specifies the opacity of the primary fill color. Default is 1.0. This numeric value may also be specified in 1/65536-ths if a trailing "f" is supplied. For example, a value of "52429f" represents 52429/65536 or 0.8.

[Example: The red color is 25% opaque:

<v:fill type="gradient" color="red"

color2="blue" opacity=".25">

</v:fill>

opacity="1"

opacity=".25"

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

preferrelative (Relative Resize Toggle)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether the original size of an object is saved after reformatting. Default is false. If true, the original size of the object is stored and all resizing is based on a percentage of that original size. Otherwise, each resizing will reset the scale to 100%.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:preferrelative="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

print (Print Toggle)

Specifies whether the shape will be printed. Default is true.

[Example:

<v:shape ... print="false" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.1.3.14).

regroupid (Regroup ID)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies a previous group for a shape. An ID number is used to identify groups of shapes that are no longer grouped. This allows shapes to be regrouped programmatically.

[Example: The shape was part of a group identified by the ID 040754:

<v:shape ... o:regroupid="040754" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema integer datatype.

spid (Optional String)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies an optional string that an application may use to Identify the particular shape. Default is no value.

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

spt (Optional Number)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies an optional number that an application may use to associate the particular shape with a defined shape type. Default is 0.

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema float datatype.

strokecolor (Shape Stroke Color)

Specifies the primary color of the brush to use to stroke the path of the shape. Default is black. The color attribute of the stroke element (§6.1.2.21) overrides this. Colors are typically specified as either a named color, such as red, or six hexadecimal digits representing the red, green and blue values of the color, such as #00FF30. Full details are specified in the simple type description.

[Example:

<v:shape ... strokecolor="red" ...>

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_ColorType simple type (§6.1.3.1).

stroked (Shape Stroke Toggle)

Specifies whether the path defining the shape is stroked with a solid line. The stroke element (§6.1.2.21) defines other strokes. The on attribute of the stroke element overrides this attribute. Default is true.

[Example:

<v:shape ... fillcolor="red"

stroked="false" strokecolor="blue"...>

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.1.3.14).

strokeweight (Shape Stroke Weight)

Specifies the width of the brush to use to stroke the path. Default is 1 point. If a number is given without units, the emu is used. The weight attribute of the stroke element (§6.1.2.21) overrides this attribute.

[Example:

<v:shape ... strokeweight="3pt" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

style (Shape Styling Properties)

Specifies the CSS2 styling properties of the shape. This uses the syntax described in the "Visual formatting model" of the Cascading Style Sheets, Level 2 specification, a Recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium available here: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2. Full descriptions of each property are not repeated here, but the VML treatment of each property is defined. Allowed properties include:

The following properties are only used by the textbox element (§6.1.2.22):

The following properties are only used by the textpath element (§6.1.2.23):

The line (§6.1.2.12), polyline (§6.1.2.15) and curve (§6.1.2.3) elements ignore the following properties:

• top

• left

• width

• height

The following properties are not inherited by an element that references a shapetype element (§6.1.2.20) via the id attribute:

• flip

• height

• left

• margin-left

• margin-top

• position

• rotation

• top

• visibility

• width

• z-index

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

target (Hyperlink Display Target)

Specifies a frame or window that a URL is displayed in. Default is no value. Allowed values are:

[Example:

<v:shape ...

href="http://www.openxmlformats.org"

target="_self" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

title (Shape Title)

Specifies the text displayed when the mouse pointer moves over the shape. Default is no value.

[Example:

<v:shape ... title="tooltip" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

to (Curve Ending Point)

Specifies the ending point of the line in the coordinate space of the parent element. Default is "30,20". If the parent is not a VML element, the default unit is a pixel. Allowed units are in, cm, mm, pt, pc and px.

[Example:

<v:curve ... to="40,40" ... >

</v:curve>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.

userdrawn (Exists In Master Slide)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether the user has added the shape to a master slide. Default is false. Used by PresentationML.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:userdrawn="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

userhidden (Hide Script Anchors)

Namespace: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office

Specifies whether a script anchor is hidden. Default is false. If true, script anchors stay hidden even if the shape is otherwise visible. A script anchor is the visual representation of a script that when displayed in an application.

[Example:

<v:shape ... o:userhidden="true" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TrueFalse simple type (§6.2.3.23).

wrapcoords (Shape Bounding Polygon)

Specifies the bounding polygon that surrounds a shape. This is specified using a comma-delimited list of x and y coordinates: "x1,y1,x2,y2,x3,y3,..." This is used when text is tightly wrapped around a shape. Default is no value until the mso-wrap-mode style attribute is set to tight or through.

[Example:

<v:shape ...

wrapcoords="0,0 0,200, 200,200, 200,0" ... >

</v:shape>

end example]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the XML Schema string datatype.