A Formatting Object (FO), roughly:
- 
Corresponds to one or more areas of the screen
 
- 
Has properties to describe how that area looks
 
- 
Has content, either
- 
text,
 
- 
external object (image, applet, etc.), or
 
- 
more formatting objects
 
 
Compared to HTML elements:
"FO = element + properties - element-type - attributes"