A read-only display of a label and value for a field on a Salesforce object. An <apex:outputField> component respects the attributes of the associated field, including how it should be displayed to the user. For example, if the specified <apex:outputField> component is a currency field, the appropriate currency symbol is displayed. Likewise, if the <apex:outputField> component is a lookup field or URL, the value of the field is displayed as a link.

Note that if custom help is defined for the field in Setup, the field must be a child of an <apex:pageBlock> or <apex:pageBlockSectionItem>, and the Salesforce page header must be displayed for the custom help to appear on your Visualforce page. To override the display of custom help, use the <apex:outputField> in the body of an <apex:pageBlockSectionItem>.

The Rich Text Area data type can only be used with this component on pages running Salesforce.com API versions greater than 18.0.