background-image Attribute | backgroundImage Property

Sets or retrieves the background image of the object.

Syntax

HTML { background-image : sLocation }
Scripting object.style.backgroundImage [ = sLocation ]

Possible Values

sLocation String that specifies or receives one of the following values.
none Default. Color of the next parent through which the background is visible.
url(sUrl) Location of the background image, where sUrl is an absolute or relative URL.
The property is read/write for all objects except the following, for which it is read-only: currentStyle. The property has a default value of none. The Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) attribute is not inherited.
Expressions can be used in place of the preceding value(s), as of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5. For more information, see About Dynamic Properties.

Remarks

The URL identifies the image file. When setting a background image, you can set a background color to use when the image is unavailable. When the image is available, it overlays the background color.
This property can be set with other background properties by using the background composite property.
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 3.0 supports the background-image attribute, but only when it's set through the background attribute.

Examples

The following examples use the background-image attribute and the backgroundImage property to specify the background's image.
This example uses a call to an embedded (global) style sheet to show and hide the background image.
<STYLE>
.setUrl  { background-image: url(sphere.jpg) }
.loseUrl { background-image: url(none) }
</STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<SPAN STYLE="font-size:14" onmouseover="this.className='setUrl'"
onmouseout="this.className='loseUrl'">
. . . </SPAN>
This feature requires Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. Click the following icon to install the latest version. Then reload this page to view the sample.
This example uses inline scripting to show and hide the background image.
<SPAN onmouseover="this.style.backgroundImage='url(sphere.jpeg)'">
. . . </SPAN>
This feature requires Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. Click the following icon to install the latest version. Then reload this page to view the sample.

Standards Information

This property is defined in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Level 1 (CSS1) .

Applies To

A, ADDRESS, B, BIG, BLOCKQUOTE, BODY, BUTTON, CAPTION, CENTER, CITE, CODE, COL, COLGROUP, currentStyle, CUSTOM, DD, defaults, DFN, DIR, DIV, DL, DT, EM, FIELDSET, FORM, hn, HTML, I, IMG, INPUT type=button, INPUT type=checkbox, INPUT type=file, INPUT type=image, INPUT type=password, INPUT type=radio, INPUT type=reset, INPUT type=submit, INPUT type=text, ISINDEX, KBD, LABEL, LEGEND, LI, LISTING, MARQUEE, MENU, NOBR, OL, P, PLAINTEXT, PRE, runtimeStyle, S, SAMP, SMALL, SPAN, STRIKE, STRONG, style, SUB, SUP, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TEXTAREA, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TR, TT, U, UL, VAR, XMP