View source for Vector Markup Language

{{short description|Obsolete XML-based vector graphics format}}
{{Distinguish|VRML}}
{{ infobox file format
| name                   = Vector Markup Language
| icon                   =
| logo                   = 
| screenshot             = 
| caption                = 
|_noextcode              = on
| extension              = <code>.htm</code> or <code>.html</code>
| mime                   = application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.vmlDrawing
| type code              = 
| uniform type           = 
| magic                  = 
| owner                  = [[Microsoft]]
| released               = 
| latest release version = 
| latest release date    = 
| genre                  = [[vector graphics|Vector image format]]
| container for          = 
| contained by           = 
| extended from          = [[XML]]
| extended to            = 
| standard               = Part of ECMA-376 and ISO/IEC 29500:2008
| url                    = [https://www.ecma-international.org/publications-and-standards/standards/ecma-376/ ECMA-376], [http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=61798 ISO/IEC 29500-4:2012]
}}

'''Vector Markup Language''' ('''VML''') is an obsolete [[XML]]-based [[file format]] for two-dimensional [[vector graphics]]. It was specified in Part 4 of the [[Office Open XML]] standards [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]]/[[International Electrotechnical Commission|IEC]] 29500 and [[Ecma International|ECMA]]-376. According to the specification, VML is a deprecated format included in Office Open XML for legacy reasons only.<ref name="vml-in-or-out">{{cite web |url=http://www.openmalaysiablog.com/2007/06/is-vml-in-or-ou.html|title=Is VML in or out now, or was that a typo? |date=2007-06-22 |access-date=2010-07-29 |url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621213223/http://www.openmalaysiablog.com/2007/06/is-vml-in-or-ou.html |archive-date=2008-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecma-international.org/news/TC45_current_work/New%20proposed%20dispositions%20extend%20progress%20in%20addressing%20all%20National%20Body%20comments.htm |title=Ecma TC45 - New proposed dispositions extend progress in addressing all National Body comments, seek to document and resolve legacy issues&nbsp;– Nearly 2/3 of comments now reviewed |date=2007-12-21 |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref>

VML was used extensively in MS Office 2007 Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.<ref name="vml-in-or-out" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.codeproject.com/KB/XML/ooxml_is_defective.aspx |title=Microsoft Office XML formats ? Defective by design |author=Stephane Rodriguez |date=2007-09-04 |access-date=2010-07-29 |archive-date=2010-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619030332/http://www.codeproject.com/KB/XML/ooxml_is_defective.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://poi.apache.org/apidocs/org/apache/poi/xssf/usermodel/XSSFVMLDrawing.html |title=POI API Documentation&nbsp;— Class XSSFVMLDrawing |author=Yegor Kozlov |publisher=Apache Software Foundation |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> In 2012, with the release of [[Internet Explorer 10]], VML became obsolete and is no longer supported by Internet Explorer standard mode.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ie/hh801223%28v=vs.85%29.aspx |title=VML is no longer supported |author=Microsoft}}</ref> It is a legacy feature that is available in Internet Explorer 10 only when the browser is set to run in modes that emulate the functionality of previous versions of Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8, and 9.

== History ==

VML was submitted to the [[World Wide Web Consortium]] (W3C) in 1998 by [[Autodesk]], [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[Macromedia]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Vision Corporation|Vision]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/NOTE-VML-19980513|title=Vector Markup Language (VML)|last=Mathews|first=Brian|author2=Brian Dister |author3=John Bowler |author4=Howard Cooper stein |author5=Ajay Jindal |author6=Tuan Nguyen |author7=Peter Wu |author8=Troy Sandal |date=13 May 1998|publisher=[[W3C]]|access-date=2009-05-08}}</ref> Around the same time other competing W3C submissions were received in the area of web vector graphics, such as [[Precision Graphics Markup Language]] (PGML) from [[Adobe Systems]], [[Sun Microsystems]], and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/NOTE-PGML-19980410|title=Precision Graphics Markup Language (PGML)|last=Al-Shamma|first=Nabeel|author2=Robert Ayers |author3=Richard Cohn |author4=Jon Ferraiolo |author5=Martin Newell |author6=Roger K. de Bry |author7=Kevin McCluskey |author8=Jerry Evans |date=10 April 1998|publisher=[[W3C]]|access-date=2009-05-08}}</ref> As a result of these submissions, a new W3C working group was created, which produced [[Scalable Vector Graphics]] (SVG). SVG became a W3C Recommendation in 2001 as a language for describing two-dimensional vector and mixed vector/raster graphics in XML.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG10/ |title=Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.0 Specification |author=W3C |date=2001-09-04 |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> VML has been largely deprecated in favor of other formats, such as SVG.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc164114.aspx |title= Vector Graphics | publisher = MSDN Magazine |author=Dennis Forbes |date=July 2003 |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> SVG is not compatible with VML.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vector.org.uk/archive/v164/vml164.htm |title=VML&nbsp;— Vector Graphics on the Internet |date=July 2001 |access-date=2010-07-29 |archive-date=2010-07-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710075809/http://www.vector.org.uk/archive/v164/vml164.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Development of the format ceased in 1998.<ref>{{ cite book |author1=Jon Frost |author2=Stefan Goessner |author3=Michel Hirtzler | title=Learn SVG: the web graphics standard | year=2003 | isbn=0-9741773-0-X | page=7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BO4XUooS8TEC&q=learn%20svg%20or%20vml&pg=PT72 | quote=Support for Microsoft's submission, VML, has been realized in Internet Explorer, but development stopped in the autumn of 1998. }}</ref> VML is implemented in Internet Explorer from [[Internet Explorer 5|version 5]] to [[Internet Explorer 9|version 9]] and in [[Microsoft Office 2000]]. VML is no longer available in [[Internet Explorer 10]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Internet Explorer 10 Compatibility Cookbook (Windows)|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ie/hh801219%28v=vs.85%29.aspx|work=[[MSDN]]|publisher=Microsoft|access-date=28 November 2012|date=1 October 2012}}</ref> Microsoft expects web sites to transition to SVG.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2e8d87f2-c6ce-491f-a8e1-3413e0cff24a&displaylang=en |title=VML to SVG Migration Guide |author=Seth McEvoy |publisher=Microsoft |date=2010-03-16 |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> Version 2 of the [[Google Maps]] [[JavaScript]] API used to use VML for vector paths on [[Internet Explorer]] 5.5+,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/javascript/v2/overlays.html#Drawing_Polylines |title=Map Overlays&nbsp;— Drawing Polylines |work=Google Maps API&nbsp;— version 2 |access-date=2010-05-25}}</ref> but has been officially [[deprecate]]d in favour of version 3, which does not.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/javascript/reference.html |title=Google Maps Javascript API V3 Reference |work=Google Maps JavaScript API V3 |access-date=2010-05-25}}</ref>

== Syntax ==
Below is a VML instance as produced by [[Microsoft Excel]] 2010:
<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
<xml xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml"
 xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
 xmlns:x="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel">
 <o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
  <o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/>
 </o:shapelayout><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t202" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="202"
  path="m,l,21600r21600,l21600,xe">
  <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
  <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
 </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1025" type="#_x0000_t202" style='position:absolute;
  margin-left:203.25pt;margin-top:82.5pt;width:108pt;height:59.25pt;z-index:1;
  visibility:hidden' fillcolor="#ffffe1" o:insetmode="auto">
  <v:fill color2="#ffffe1"/>
  <v:shadow on="t" color="black" obscured="t"/>
  <v:path o:connecttype="none"/>
  <v:textbox style='mso-direction-alt:auto'>
   <div style='text-align:left'></div>
  </v:textbox>
  <x:ClientData ObjectType="Note">
   <x:MoveWithCells/>
   <x:SizeWithCells/>
   <x:Anchor>
    4, 15, 5, 10, 6, 31, 9, 9</x:Anchor>
   <x:AutoFill>False</x:AutoFill>
   <x:Row>6</x:Row>
   <x:Column>3</x:Column>
  </x:ClientData>
 </v:shape>
</xml>
</syntaxhighlight>

Note that, by specifying a root element named "xml", VML contravenes the [[XML]] Recommendation of the [[W3C]], which states that names beginning 'x' 'm' 'l' are "reserved for standardization in this or future versions of this specification".<ref name="xml-w3c-rec">{{cite web
|url=http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-xml-20081126/
|title=Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Fifth Edition)
|publisher=[[World Wide Web Consortium]]
|date=2008-11-26
|access-date=2012-11-12}}</ref>

[[File:Ovale.gif|thumb|VML oval in Internet Explorer]]
[[File:VMLJoconde.jpg|thumb|VML Webart example<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://midiwebconcept.free.fr/Demos/MonaLisa.htm |title=Vector Mona Lisa |access-date=2011-08-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104143830/http://midiwebconcept.free.fr/Demos/MonaLisa.htm |archive-date=2013-01-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]

VML, when embedded within [[HTML]] markup, is read and processed by [[Microsoft Internet Explorer]] (but not other browsers); for example, the following example displays a solid blue oval:

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
<html xmlns:v>
<style>v\:*{behavior:url(#default#VML);position:absolute}</style>
<body>
<v:oval style="left:0;top:0;width:100;height:50" fillcolor="blue" stroked="f"/>
</body>
</html>
</syntaxhighlight>

== Implementations ==

VML is used by most [[Microsoft Office]] applications, such as [[Microsoft Word]] and [[Microsoft Visio]], within HTML files created using the '<code>Save As HTML</code>' option (plain HTML or [[MHTML|MHT]]). Such files retain complete [[Vector graphics|vector]] information, and can be reopened for editing using other Microsoft applications, such as [[Microsoft PowerPoint]]. VML was natively supported by Microsoft's [[Internet Explorer]] up to version 9 inline within HTML, using an undefined version of [[SGML]] [[namespace]]s. Support for VML was dropped in Internet Explorer 10 and subsequent versions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-ie10-web-browser-dx-vml,14215.html|title = Microsoft Removes Legacy Baggage from Internet Explorer 10|date = 9 December 2011}}</ref>

Support for "ink annotations" in [[Office Open XML]] files was added to [[LibreOffice]] during the 3.7 development cycle.<ref>{{cite web | title = Importing OOXML Ink annotations into LibreOffice | url = http://www.derivativezero.com/blog/2012/09/importing-ooxml-ink-annotations-into-libreoffice/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121001050450/http://www.derivativezero.com/blog/2012/09/importing-ooxml-ink-annotations-into-libreoffice/ | archive-date = 1 October 2012 }}</ref>

VML is not natively supported by most web browsers. Web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari or Google Chrome support [[Scalable Vector Graphics]] (SVG) instead of VML.

== Microsoft Outlook HTML email rendering==
Though VML is deprecated as a standard in Internet Explorer, it is most commonly used in relation to the development of HTML emails rendered in Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2010, and 2013. The use of background-images in email campaigns requires the use of VML to be displayed in Outlook because Outlook does not support the CSS or HTML attributes for background-images. However using VML for content rather than its intended purpose as an image format comes with a number of accessibility issues.<ref>https://a11y.email/email-accessibility-alert-vml-code-creates-accessibility-errors/ a</ref>

=== Full width table cell background images ===
<syntaxhighlight lang="html">
<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml">
    <head>
        <style>
            v:* { behavior: url(#default#VML); display: inline-block; }
        </style>
    </head>
    <body>
    <table width="100%" height="20">
        <tr>
            <td bgcolor="#dddddd" style="background-image:url('http://placekitten.com/g/500/300');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;" background="http://placekitten.com/g/500/300" width="100%" height="300">
            <!--[if gte mso 9]>
            <v:rect xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" fill="true" stroke="false" style="mso-width-percent:1000;height:300px;">
                <v:fill type="frame" src="http://placekitten.com/g/500/300" color="#ffffff" />
            </v:rect>
            <![endif]-->
            </td>
        </tr>
    </table>
</body>
</html>
</syntaxhighlight>

=== Specified width table cell background images ===
<syntaxhighlight lang="html">
<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml">
    <head>
        <style>
            v:* { behavior: url(#default#VML); display: inline-block; }
        </style>
    </head>
    <body>
    <table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;">
        <tr>
            <td style="width: 300px; height: 80px; background-image: url('http://placekitten.com/g/300/80');">
            <!--[if gte mso 9]>
            <v:image xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" id="theImage" style='behavior: url(#default#VML); display: inline-block; position: absolute; width: 300px; height: 80px; top: 0; left: 0; border: 0; z-index: 1;' src="http://placekitten.com/g/300/80" />
                <v:shape xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" id="theText" style='behavior: url(#default#VML); display: inline-block; position: absolute; width: 300px; height: 80px; top: -5; left: -10; border: 0; z-index: 2;'>
                <div>
             <![endif]-->
             <table width="300" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;">
                 <tr>
                     <td height="80" align="center" valign="top" style="color:#ffffff;font-size:20px;"><span>Text</span></td>
                 </tr>
             </table>
             <!--[if gte mso 9]>
                 </div>
                 </v:shape>
             <![endif]-->
             </td>
         </tr>
    </table>
</body>
</html>
</syntaxhighlight>

== See also ==
* [[List of vector graphics markup languages]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/NOTE-VML-19980513 W3C submission] Initial draft 13 May 1998
* [http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb263898.aspx MSDN page] about VML
* [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/documentformat.openxml.vml.aspx MSDN page] about DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Vml namespace

{{Internet Explorer}}
{{vector graphics markup languages}}
{{Graphics file formats}}

[[Category:User interface markup languages]]
[[Category:Markup languages]]
[[Category:XML-based standards]]
[[Category:ISO/IEC standards]]
[[Category:XML]]
[[Category:Office Open XML]]
[[Category:Graphics file formats]]
[[Category:Vector graphics]]
[[Category:Vector graphics markup languages]]