Figures

Figures are defined in the JATS tag library as “block of graphic or textual material […] usually bearing a caption and a label.” (https://jats.nlm.nih.gov/archiving/tag-library/1.2/chapter/tag-fig-graphic.html#pub-tag-fig-graphic).

The <fig> element can be used to capture multiple graphic versions of a figure or a multimedia object. A <graphic> element is used within <fig> to link to an external file that contains the image but does not contain the image itself.

<graphic> and <inline-graphic> can be used without <fig> to capture images that are not typical figures; for example, images that add to the visual effect of an article but are not critical to its content. Further information on the ways to capture images are included in the table and examples below.

The @position attribute can be used to indicate whether the figure element must be anchored at its exact location within the text or whether it may float; however, the default position of ‘float’ does not need to be specified as this is the automatic position given to figures on Taylor & Francis Online.

Figure type Element Description Examples Naming convention
Standard figure <fig> A standard figure which contains a caption.
  • Numbered and labelled figures (I.e. figures 1-10)
    		 <fig id="F0001">
    Multi-part figure Multiple <fig> elements within the <fig-group> element. A collection of multiple figures.
    • If a figure has multiple parts that may be referenced separately; e.g. Figures 3(a-f).
    		 <fig-group id="f0001"> <fig id="f0001a">
    Unlabeled figure <fig> without a label or caption. Images that do not have a caption or label but are critical to the content of the article.
    • Images that do not have a formal caption but may be referenced.
    • Images that need to appear in the ‘Figures’ tab on TFO.
    		 <fig id="UF0001">
    Graphic <graphic> Images that may add to the visual effect of an article but are not critical to the content.
    • Images such as: Graphics in table cells.
    • Front cover of a book.
    • Author photographs.
    		 <graphic id="G0001">
    Inline graphic <inline-graphic> An external graphic that is displayed or set in the same line as the text.
    • Small graphics, such as icons.
    • Musical notes that need to appear in-line with the text.
    • Characters that cannot be encoded using entities.
    		 <inline-graphic xlink:href="GVIR_A_846798_ILG0001.gif"/>

    Only images included within the <fig> element, whether labelled or unlabeled, will appear in the ‘Figures’ tab on Taylor & Francis Online. Images captured using <graphic> and <inline-graphic> will appear in the full-text section of an article, but will not appear in the ‘Figures’ tab.

    For image file specifications and guidelines, refer to https://jats.taylorandfrancis.com/tfjats/doc/#concept/images.html.

    <label> vs <caption>

    <label> is used to capture the figure identifier; for example, ‘Figure 1’ or ‘Figure 5a’.

    <caption> is used to capture the textual description of a figure and does not typically include the figure identifier.

    Print vs online

    The ‘content-type’ attribute is used to identify a graphic file as either ‘color’ or ‘black-white’, and the ‘specific-use’ attribute is used to identify whether the graphic is ‘web-only’ or ‘print-only’. This corresponds to the suffix used in the file name, as below:

    Image type File name suffix Specific-use Content-type
    Black and white/ greyscale B Black-white
    Color C Color
    Online, black and white/ greyscale OB Web-only Black-white
    Online color OC Web-only Color
    Print black and white/ greyscale PB Print-only Black-white
    Print color PC Print-only Color

    Examples

    Standard figure

    The graphic <element> is placed in <fig> and the content-type attribute is used to identify the color of the figure:

    <fig id="F0001"> 
   <label>Figure 1</label> 
   <caption> 
      <p>Schematic presentation of experimental setup.</p> 
   </caption> 
   <graphic xlink:href="UOEH_A_752321_F0001_B.jpg" content-type="black-white"/> 
</fig>

    Different images for print and online

    The <alternatives> element is used when there is more than one image.

    <fig id="F0001"> 
  <label>Figure 1</label> 
  <caption> 
    <p>The location of the six neighbourhoods in the Lansing Capital Region.</p> 
  </caption> 
  <alternatives> 
    <graphic xlink:href="CJUD_A_683403_F0001_OC.jpg" content-type="color" specific-use="web-only"/> 
    <graphic xlink:href="CJUD_A_683403_F0001_PB.tif" content-type="black-white" specific-use="print-only"/> 
  </alternatives> 
</fig>

    Multi-part figures

    If not treated as a single, multi-part image, figures can be treated as a collection of figures. When a multi-part figure needs to be treated in this way, each part should be tagged using a <fig> element and a <fig-group> element. An ID attribute should be placed on the <fig-group> element and an ID attribute containing the same ID with a letter suffix (e.g. a, b, c) should be placed on each <fig> element. E.g.:

    <fig-group id="F0003"> 
<label>Figure 3</label> 
<caption> 
<p>(a-f). Land uses.</p> 
</caption> 
<fig id="f0003a"> 
<alternatives> 
<graphic xlink:href="CJUD_A_683403_F0003A_OC.jpg" content-type="color" specific-use="web-only"/> 
<graphic xlink:href="CJUD_A_683403_F0003A_PB.tif" content-type="black-white" specific-use="print-only"/> 
</alternatives> 
</fig> 
<fig id="F0003b"> 
<alternatives> 
<graphic xlink:href="CJUD_A_683403_F0003B_OC.jpg" content-type="color" specific-use="web-only"/> 
<graphic xlink:href="CJUD_A_683403_F0003B_PB.tif" content-type="black-white" specific-use="print-only"/> 
</alternatives> 
</fig> 
</fig-group>

    Example: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13574809.2012.683403

    Figures without a caption or label

    Figures without a caption or label should be tagged using a <fig> element with this information excluded. For example:

    <fig id="UF0001"> 
    <graphic xlink:href="RAPC_A_826705_UF0001_B.jpg" content-type="black-white"/> 
</fig>

    If different image files are needed for print and online, both should be included and identified as described above. For example:

    <fig id="UF0001"> 
    <alternatives> 
        <graphic xlink:href="RAPC_A_826705_UF0001_OC.jpg" content-type="color" specific-use="web-only"/> 
        <graphic xlink:href="RAPC_A_826705_UF0001_PB.tif" content-type="black-white" specific-use="print-only"/> 
    </alternatives> 
</fig>

    Graphics

    An unlabeled image may be tagged using a <graphic> element by itself. Examples of where the graphic element can be used by itself (without a wrapping element such as <fig>) include images that appear inside table cells, images that are not important to the content of the article, and content that can only be presented correctly using a graphic. An unlabeled image tagged with only a <graphic> element should include the id attribute. For example:

       <p> 
   <graphic id="G0001" xlink:href="TPHY_A_1483156_G0001.gif"/> 
   </p>

    Inline graphics

    Inline graphics are also unlabeled but are different to unlabeled figures. Inline graphics appear in-line with text and are tagged using <inline-graphic>:

    Incorrect (xml):

    <p>Reviewed by Martha A. Sandweiss</p> 
<alternatives> 
<inline-graphic xlink:href="GVIR_A_846798_ILG0001_OC.eps" content-type="color" specific-use="web-only"/> 
<inline-graphic xlink:href="GVIR_A_846798_ILG0001_PB.eps" content-type="black-white" specific-use="print-only"/> 
</alternatives> 
<p>In a series of brief chapters

    Correct (xml):

    <p>Reviewed by Martha A. Sandweiss</p> 
<p><inline-graphic xlink:href="GVIR_A_846798_ILG0001.gif"/> In a series of brief chapters

    Captions and attributions

    Captions, defined as the textual description of an object, should be captured using the <caption> element. The text included in <caption> does not need to contain the figure label, as this is specified in the <label> element.

    Attributions, such as copyright lines, permissions statements, source information and/or the origin of a figure, should be captured using the <attrib> element. This element is separate to the caption and is displayed on a separate line.

    <fig id="F0001" 
<label>Fig. 1.</label> 
<caption> 
<p>The geographical distribution of fathers employed as spinners in Lancashire and Cheshire, 1813.</p> 
</caption> 
<alternatives> 
<graphic xlink:href="YTEX_A_1367895_F0001_OC.tif" content-type="color" specific-use="web-only"/> 
<graphic xlink:href="YTEX_A_1367895_F0001_PC.tif" content-type="color" specific-use="print-only"/> 
</alternatives> 
<attrib>Sources: England and Wales annualised data 1813&#x2013;1820.mbd, <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://files-occs.geog.cam.ac.uk/">https://files-occs.geog.cam.ac.uk/</ext-link>, University of Cambridge. Boundary data taken from Max Satchell, (2006).<xref ref-type="fn" rid="EN0055"><sup>55</sup></xref> Note: The 11 spinners attributed to twine, woollens or silk are excluded from Fig <xref rid="F0001" ref-type="fig">1</xref>.</attrib> 
</fig>

    Media items

    Media files are tagged with the <media> element inside <fig>, which holds relevant information such as figure ID/number, caption, attribution etc. For more information, see the Media guidelines document.

    Call-outs

    In-text references to figures should be tagged using the <xref> element. The rid attribute should contain the ID used for the referenced figure; e.g.:

    <xref rid="F0001">Figure 1</xref>

    Fig-count

    The <fig-count> element is used to capture the number of labelled figures in a document. It is not a total of the number of images or <graphic> elements in an article, and should not include unlabeled or inline graphics. <fig-count> should be included even if the count is 0.

    <counts> 
<fig-count count="8"/> 
<table-count count="2"/> 
<equation-count count="0"/> 
<ref-count count="0"/> 
<page-count count="16"/> 
</counts>