<maction>

The MathML <maction> element provides a possibility to bind actions to (sub-) expressions. The action itself is specified by the actiontype attribute, which accepts several values. To specify which child elements are addressed by the action, you can make use of the selection attribute.

Attributes

actiontype
The action which specifies what happens for this element. Possible values are:
  • statusline: If there is a click on the expression or the reader moves the pointer over it, the message is sent to the browser's status line. The syntax is: <maction actiontype="statusline"> expression message </maction>.
  • toggle: When there is a click on the subexpression, the rendering alternates the display of selected subexpressions. Therefore each click increments the selection value.
    The syntax is: <maction actiontype="toggle" selection="positive-integer" > expression1 expression2 expressionN </maction>.
  • tooltip: When the pointer moves over the expression, a tooltip box with a message is displayed near the expression.
    The syntax is: <maction actiontype="tooltip"> expression message </maction>.
class, id, style
Provided for use with stylesheets.
href
Used to set a hyperlink to a specified URI.
mathbackground
The background color. You can use #rgb, #rrggbb and HTML color names.
mathcolor
The text color and also the fraction line color. You can use #rgb, #rrggbb and HTML color names.
selection
The child element which is addressed by the action. The default value is 1, which is the first child element.

Examples

The following example uses the "toggle" actiontype:

<math>

<maction actiontype="toggle">

  <mfrac>
    <mn>6</mn>
    <mn>8</mn>
  </mfrac>

  <mfrac>
    <mrow>
      <mn>3</mn>
      <mo>&sdot;</mo>
      <mn>2</mn>
    </mrow>
    <mrow>
      <mn>4</mn>
      <mo>&sdot;</mo>
      <mn>2</mn>
    </mrow>
  </mfrac>

  <mfrac>
    <mn>3</mn>
    <mn>4</mn>
  </mfrac>

</maction>

</math>

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
MathML 3.0
The definition of 'maction' in that specification.
Recommendation Current specification
MathML 2.0
The definition of 'maction' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial specification

Browser compatibility

DesktopMobile
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung Internet
mactionChrome No support NoEdge No support NoFirefox Full support 1IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari Full support 8WebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support 4Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
actiontypeChrome No support NoEdge No support NoFirefox Full support 1
Notes
Full support 1
Notes
Notes statusline and toggle are supported, tooltip is not implemented, see bug 544001.
IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari Full support 8
Notes
Full support 8
Notes
Notes toggle is supported, statusline and tooltip are not implemented, see WebKit bug 120059.
WebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support 4
Notes
Full support 4
Notes
Notes statusline and toggle are supported, tooltip is not implemented, see bug 544001.
Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
hrefChrome No support NoEdge No support NoFirefox Full support 7IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari Full support 10WebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android No support NoOpera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
mathbackgroundChrome No support NoEdge No support NoFirefox Full support 4IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari Full support 8WebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support 4Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No
mathcolorChrome No support NoEdge No support NoFirefox Full support 4IE No support NoOpera No support NoSafari Full support 8WebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support 4Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No

Legend

Full support
Full support
No support
No support
See implementation notes.
See implementation notes.

Gecko-specific notes

  • Prior to Gecko 9.0 (Firefox 9.0 / Thunderbird 9.0 / SeaMonkey 2.6) the non-standard restyle value on the actiontype attribute was supported. This value has been removed.
  • Prior to Gecko 14.0 (Firefox 14.0 / Thunderbird 14.0 / SeaMonkey 2.11) the statusline action type was using a non-standard syntax (see below). This has been fixed to follow the MathML specification.
    <maction actiontype="statusline#(message)">
    (expression)
    </maction>
    
  • With Gecko 15.0 (Firefox 15.0 / Thunderbird 15.0 / SeaMonkey 2.12) the selection attribute is only taken into account with the actiontype "toggle".
  • Starting with Gecko 16.0 (Firefox 16.0 / Thunderbird 16.0 / SeaMonkey 2.13) the selection attribute is also taken into account when an unknown actiontype is specified. If an actiontype is not specified (is empty) or when the selection attribute is invalid, the markup will throw an MathML error (invalid-markup).