# Bad value X for attribute “src” on element “img”: Illegal character after “ta:”. Space is not allowed. > Canonical HTML version: https://rocketvalidator.com/html-validation/bad-value-x-for-attribute-src-on-element-img-illegal-character-after-ta-space-is-not-allowed > Attribution: Rocket Validator (https://rocketvalidator.com) > License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) A `data:` URI in the `src` attribute of an `` element can't contain literal spaces, so an inline SVG in that URI needs every space written as `%20`. The `data:` scheme, defined in [RFC 2397](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2397), puts the file itself in the attribute value. The data after the comma may only contain URL characters, and a space isn't one of them. The `ta:` in the message is the end of `data:`. The validator quotes the scheme rather than the position of the space, so the space can be anywhere in the value. Inline SVG is the usual cause. SVG markup needs a space between the element name and each attribute, as in ``, and encoding the angle brackets as `%3C` and `%3E` leaves those spaces alone. A common case is an empty SVG with only `width` and `height`, used as a placeholder that holds the image's box until the real file loads. Browsers usually render the image anyway, but the value is still an invalid URL. Replace every space with `%20`, or base64-encode the SVG and add `;base64` before the comma. In JavaScript, `encodeURIComponent()` converts the spaces to `%20`, along with the angle brackets and double quotes. If the SVG is large or reused, save it as a file and point `src` at that file. ## Invalid example ```html ``` ## Valid examples ```html ```