HTML - kind Attribute

HTML kind attribute is used with <track> element to specify the kind of text track for the audio/video.

The <track> element is used within the <audio> and <video> element to specify the subtitles, captions files, any other text files that will visible when the media is playing.

The <track> element specifies the timed text tracks for audio and video elements. Without the <track> element, you can’t see the captions, subtitles, or other text for the video or audio media when the media is playing.

Syntax

<track kind = "value">

Here are the possible values for the kind attribute:

subtitles: Translations of the dialog, suitable for when the sound is available but not understood (e.g., foreign language subtitles).
captions: Transcriptions of the dialog, sound effects, and other relevant audio information, suitable for when the sound is unavailable (e.g., for the hearing impaired).
descriptions: Text descriptions of the video content, intended for visually impaired users.
chapters: Chapter titles or markers to navigate through the media.
metadata: Tracks used to store metadata (e.g., for scripts). This value is not displayed by the browser.

Applies On

Below listed elements allow using of the HTML kind attribute

Element	Description
<track>	HTML <track> tag is used to define the time-based text tracks for a media file.

Examples of HTML kind Attribute

Below examples will illustrate the HTML kind attribute, where and how we should use this attribute!

Add subtitle for video element using kind attribute

In the following example, we are going to use the HTML kind attribute with the track element to add subtitle to a video.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<body>
   <h3>Example of the HTML 'kind' attribute</h3>
   <video width="350" height="200" controls>
   <track src=
"https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvjem6er1pp1usy/MicrosoftInclusiveHiring.mp?raw=1" 
           id="myTrack1" 
           kind="subtitles" 
           srclang="en">
   <source src=
"https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvjem6er1pp1usy/MicrosoftInclusiveHiring.mp4?raw=1" 
           type="video/mp4">
</video>
</body>

</html>

Add caption to a video using kind attribute

Considering the another scenario, where we are going to use the kind attribute with the track element of the video to add caption to.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">;

<body>
   <h3>Example of HTML 'kind' attribute</h3>
   <video width="350" height="200" controls>
   <track src=
"https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvjem6er1pp1usy/MicrosoftInclusiveHiring.mp?raw=1" 
           id="myTrack1" 
           kind="captions" 
           srclang="en">
   <source src=
"https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvjem6er1pp1usy/MicrosoftInclusiveHiring.mp4?raw=1" 
           type="video/mp4">
</video>
</body>

</html>

Add descriptions to a HTML video

In this case, we add description to HTML video element using description value of kind attribute. This help to add text descriptions for the video content

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<body>
   <h3>Example of HTML 'kind' attribute</h3>
   <video width="350" height="200" controls>
   <track src=
"https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvjem6er1pp1usy/MicrosoftInclusiveHiring.mp?raw=1" 
           id="myTrack1" 
           kind="description" 
           srclang="en">
   <source src=
"https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvjem6er1pp1usy/MicrosoftInclusiveHiring.mp4?raw=1" 
           type="video/mp4">
</video>
</body>

</html>

Add subtitle for HTML audio element

In this example we will add subtitle for an audio tag using kind attribute of track tag.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
   <title>HTML 'kind' attribute</title>
</head>

<body>
   <h3>Example of the HTML 'kind' attribute</h3>
   <audio controls>
      <source src=
"https://samplelib.com/lib/preview/mp3/sample-15s.mp3" 
             type="audio/mpeg">
      <track kind="subtitles" 
               srclang="en" 
               label="English">
   </audio>
</body>

</html>

Supported Browsers

Attribute
kind	Yes 18.0	Yes 10.0	Yes 31.0	Yes 6.0	Yes 15.0

html_attributes_reference.htm