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What is CSS?
- CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets
- Styles define how to display HTML elements
- Styles are normally stored in Style Sheets
- Styles were added to HTML 4.0 to solve a problem
- External Style Sheets can save you a lot of work
- External Style Sheets are stored in CSS files
- Multiple style definitions will cascade into one
Styles Solve a Common Problem
HTML tags were originally designed to define the content of a document. They
were supposed to say "This is a header", "This is a paragraph", "This is a
table", by using tags like <h1>, <p>, <table>, and so on. The layout of the
document was supposed to be taken care of by the browser, without using any
formatting tags.
As the two major browsers - Netscape and Internet Explorer - continued to add
new HTML tags and attributes (like the <font> tag and the color attribute) to
the original HTML specification, it became more and more difficult to create Web
sites where the content of HTML documents was clearly separated from the
document's presentation layout.
To solve this problem, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) - the non profit,
standard setting consortium, responsible for standardizing HTML - created STYLES
in addition to HTML 4.0.
All major browsers support Cascading Style Sheets.
Style Sheets Can Save a Lot of Work
Styles sheets define HOW HTML elements are to be displayed, just like the font tag and the color attribute in HTML 3.2. Styles are normally saved in external .css files. External style sheets enable you to change the appearance and layout of all the pages in your Web, just by editing one single CSS document!
CSS is a breakthrough in Web design because it allows developers to control the style and layout of multiple Web pages all at once. As a Web developer you can define a style for each HTML element and apply it to as many Web pages as you want. To make a global change, simply change the style, and all elements in the Web are updated automatically.
Multiple Styles Will Cascade Into One
Style sheets allow style information to be specified in many ways. Styles can be specified inside a single HTML element, inside the element of an HTML page, or in an external CSS file. Even multiple external style sheets can be referenced inside a single HTML document.
Cascading Order
What style will be used when there is more than one style specified for an HTML element?
Generally speaking we can say that all the styles will "cascade" into a new "virtual" style sheet by the following rules, where number four has the highest priority:
- Browser default
- External style sheet
- Internal style sheet (inside the tag)
- Inline style (inside an HTML element)
So, an inline style (inside an HTML element) has the highest priority, which means that it will override a style declared inside the tag, in an external style sheet, or in a browser (a default value).
Note: If the external style sheet link is placed below the internal style sheet in HTML , the external style sheet will override the internal style sheet.
Syntax
The CSS syntax is made up of three parts: a selector, a property and a value:
| selector {property:value} |
The selector is normally the HTML element/tag you wish to define, the property is the attribute you wish to change, and each property can take a value. The property and value are separated by a colon, and surrounded by curly braces:
| body {color:black} |
Note: If the value is multiple words, put quotes around the value:
| p {font-family:"sans serif"} |
Note: If you want to specify more than one property, you must separate each property with a semicolon. The example below shows how to define a center aligned paragraph, with a red text color:
| p {text-align:center;color:red} |
To make the style definitions more readable, you can describe one property on each line, like this:
| p { text-align:center; color:black; font-family:arial } |
Grouping
You can group selectors. Separate each selector with a comma. In the example below we have grouped all the header elements. All header elements will be displayed in green text color:
| h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { color:green } |
The class Selector
With the class selector you can define different styles for the same type of HTML element.
Say that you would like to have two types of paragraphs in your document: one right-aligned paragraph, and one center-aligned paragraph. Here is how you can do it with styles:
| p.right {text-align:right} p.center {text-align:center} |
You have to use the class attribute in your HTML document:
| This paragraph will be right-aligned. This paragraph will be center-aligned. |
Note: To apply more than one class per given element, the syntax is:
| This is a paragraph. |
The paragraph above will be styled by the class "center" AND the class "bold".
You can also omit the tag name in the selector to define a style that will be used by all HTML elements that have a certain class. In the example below, all HTML elements with class="center" will be center-aligned:
| .center {text-align:center} |
In the code below both the h1 element and the p element have class="center". This means that both elements will follow the rules in the ".center" selector:
This heading will be center-alignedThis paragraph will also be center-aligned. |
Add Styles to Elements with Particular Attributes
You can also apply styles to HTML elements with particular attributes.
The style rule below will match all input elements that have a type attribute with a value of "text":
| input[type="text"] {background-color:blue} |
The id Selector
You can also define styles for HTML elements with the id selector. The id selector is defined as a #.
The style rule below will match the element that has an id attribute with a value of "green":
| #green {color:green} |
The style rule below will match the p element that has an id with a value of "para1":
| p#para1 { text-align:center; color:red } |
CSS Comments
Comments are used to explain your code, and may help you when you edit the source code at a later date. A comment will be ignored by browsers. A CSS comment begins with "/*", and ends with "*/", like this:
/*This is a comment*/p
{
text-align:center;
/*This is another comment*/
color:black;
font-family:arial
}
How to Insert a Style Sheet
When a browser reads a style sheet, it will format the document according to it. There are three ways of inserting a style sheet:
External Style Sheet
An external style sheet is ideal when the style is applied to many pages. With an external style sheet, you can change the look of an entire Web site by changing one file. Each page must link to the style sheet using the <link> tag. The <link> tag goes inside the head section:
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mystyle.css" />
</head>
The browser will read the style definitions from the file mystyle.css, and format the document according to it.
An external style sheet can be written in any text editor. The file should not contain any html tags. Your style sheet should be saved with a .css extension. An example of a style sheet file is shown below:
| hr {color:sienna} p {margin-left:20px} body {background-image:url("images/back40.gif")} |
Internal Style Sheet
An internal style sheet should be used when a single document has a unique style. You define internal styles in the head section by using the <style> tag, like this:
<head>
<style type="text/css">
hr {color:sienna}
p {margin-left:20px}
body {background-image:url("images/back40.gif")}
</style>
</head>
The browser will now read the style definitions, and format the document according to it.
Note: A browser normally ignores unknown tags. This means that an old browser that does not support styles, will ignore the <style> tag, but the content of the <style> tag will be displayed on the page. It is possible to prevent an old browser from displaying the content by hiding it in the HTML comment element:
<head>
<style type="text/css">
<!--
hr {color:sienna}
p {margin-left:20px}
body {background-image:url("images/back40.gif")}
-->
</style>
</head>
Inline Styles
An inline style loses many of the advantages of style sheets by mixing content with presentation. Use this method sparingly, such as when a style is to be applied to a single occurrence of an element.
To use inline styles you use the style attribute in the relevant tag. The style attribute can contain any CSS property. The example shows how to change the color and the left margin of a paragraph:
<p style="color:sienna;margin-left:20px">This is a paragraph.</p>Multiple Style Sheets
If some properties have been set for the same selector in different style sheets, the values will be inherited from the more specific style sheet.
For example, an external style sheet has these properties for the h3 selector:
| h3 { color:red; text-align:left; font-size:8pt } |
And an internal style sheet has these properties for the h3 selector:
| h3 { text-align:right; font-size:20pt } |
If the page with the internal style sheet also links to the external style sheet the properties for h3 will be:
| color:red; text-align:right; font-size:20pt |
The color is inherited from the external style sheet and the text-alignment and the font-size is replaced by the internal style sheet.
CSS Background Properties
The CSS background properties allow you to control the background color of an element, set an image as the background, repeat a background image vertically or horizontally, and position an image on a page.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| background | A shorthand property for setting all background properties in one declaration | background-color background-image background-repeat background-attachment background-position | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| background-attachment | Sets whether a background image is fixed or scrolls with the rest of the page | scroll fixed | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| background-color | Sets the background color of an element | color-rgb color-hex color-name transparent | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| background-image | Sets an image as the background | url(URL) none | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| background-position | Sets the starting position of a background image | top left top center top right center left center center center right bottom left bottom center bottom right x% y% xpos ypos | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| background-repeat | Sets if/how a background image will be repeated | repeat repeat-x repeat-y no-repeat | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
CSS Text Properties
The CSS text properties allow you to control the appearance of text. It is possible to change the color of a text, increase or decrease the space between characters in a text, align a text, decorate a text, indent the first line in a text, and more.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| color | Sets the color of a text | color | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| direction | Sets the text direction | ltr rtl | 6 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| line-height | Sets the distance between lines | normal number length % | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| letter-spacing | Increase or decrease the space between characters | normal length | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| text-align | Aligns the text in an element | left right center justify | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| text-decoration | Adds decoration to text | none underline overline line-through blink | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| text-indent | Indents the first line of text in an element | length % | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| text-shadow | none color length | |||||
| text-transform | Controls the letters in an element | none capitalize uppercase lowercase | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| unicode-bidi | normal embed bidi-override | 5 | 2 | |||
| white-space | Sets how white space inside an element is handled | normal pre nowrap | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| word-spacing | Increase or decrease the space between words | normal length | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
CSS Font Properties
The CSS font properties allow you to change the font family, boldness, size, and the style of a text.
Note: In CSS1 fonts are identified by a font name. If a browser does not support the specified font, it will use a default font.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| font | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for a font in one declaration | font-style font-variant font-weight font-size/line-height font-family caption icon menu message-box small-caption status-bar | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| font-family | A prioritized list of font family names and/or generic family names for an element | family-name generic-family | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| font-size | Sets the size of a font | xx-small x-small small medium large x-large xx-large smaller larger length % | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| font-size-adjust | Specifies an aspect value for an element that will preserve the x-height of the first-choice font | none number | - | - | - | 2 |
| font-stretch | Condenses or expands the current font-family | normal wider narrower ultra-condensed extra-condensed condensed semi-condensed semi-expanded expanded extra-expanded ultra-expanded | - | - | - | 2 |
| font-style | Sets the style of the font | normal italic oblique | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| font-variant | Displays text in a small-caps font or a normal font | normal small-caps | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| font-weight | Sets the weight of a font | normal bold bolder lighter 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
CSS Border Properties
The CSS border properties allow you to specify the style and color of an element's border. In HTML we use tables to create borders around a text, but with the CSS border properties we can create borders with nice effects, and it can be applied to any element.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| border | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the four borders in one declaration | border-width border-style border-color | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-bottom | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the bottom border in one declaration | border-bottom-width border-style border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-bottom-color | Sets the color of the bottom border | border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-bottom-style | Sets the style of the bottom border | border-style | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-bottom-width | Sets the width of the bottom border | thin medium thick length | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-color | Sets the color of the four borders, can have from one to four colors | color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-left | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the left border in one declaration | border-left-width border-style border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-left-color | Sets the color of the left border | border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-left-style | Sets the style of the left border | border-style | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-left-width | Sets the width of the left border | thin medium thick length | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-right | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the right border in one declaration | border-right-width border-style border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-right-color | Sets the color of the right border | border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-right-style | Sets the style of the right border | border-style | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-right-width | Sets the width of the right border | thin medium thick length | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-style | Sets the style of the four borders, can have from one to four styles | none hidden dotted dashed solid double groove ridge inset outset | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-top | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the top border in one declaration | border-top-width border-style border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-top-color | Sets the color of the top border | border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-top-style | Sets the style of the top border | border-style | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-top-width | Sets the width of the top border | thin medium thick length | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-width | A shorthand property for setting the width of the four borders in one declaration, can have from one to four values | thin medium thick length | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
CSS Outline Properties
An outline is a line that is drawn around elements, outside the border edge, to make the element "stand out".
The CSS outline properties sets the outlines around elements. You can specify the style, color, and width of the outline.
Note: Outlines do not take up space, and they do not have to be rectangular.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
CSS Margin Properties
The CSS margin properties define the space around elements. It is possible to use negative values to overlap content. The top, right, bottom, and left margin can be changed independently using separate properties. A shorthand margin property can also be used to change all of the margins at once.
Note: Netscape and IE give the body tag a default margin of 8px. Opera does not! Instead, Opera applies a default padding of 8px, so if one wants to adjust the margin for an entire page and have it display correctly in Opera, the body padding must be set as well!
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| margin | A shorthand property for setting the margin properties in one declaration | margin-top margin-right margin-bottom margin-left | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| margin-bottom | Sets the bottom margin of an element | auto length % | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| margin-left | Sets the left margin of an element | auto length % | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| margin-right | Sets the right margin of an element | auto length % | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| margin-top | Sets the top margin of an element | auto length % | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
CSS Padding Properties
The CSS padding properties define the space between the element border and the element content. Negative values are not allowed. The top, right, bottom, and left padding can be changed independently using separate properties. A shorthand padding property is also created to control multiple sides at once.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| padding | A shorthand property for setting all of the padding properties in one declaration | padding-top padding-right padding-bottom padding-left | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| padding-bottom | Sets the bottom padding of an element | length % | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| padding-left | Sets the left padding of an element | length % | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| padding-right | Sets the right padding of an element | length % | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| padding-top | Sets the top padding of an element | length % | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
CSS List Properties
The CSS list properties allow you to place the list-item marker, change between different list-item markers, or set an image as the list-item marker.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list-style | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for a list in one declaration | list-style-type list-style-position list-style-image | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| list-style-image | Sets an image as the list-item marker | none url | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| list-style-position | Sets where the list-item marker is placed in the list | inside outside | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| list-style-type | Sets the type of the list-item marker | none disc circle square decimal decimal-leading-zero lower-roman upper-roman lower-alpha upper-alpha lower-greek lower-latin upper-latin hebrew armenian georgian cjk-ideographic hiragana katakana hiragana-iroha katakana-iroha | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| marker-offset | auto length | 1 | 7 | 2 |
CSS Table Properties
The CSS table properties allow you to set the layout of a table.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, M: Mac IE only, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| border-collapse | Sets whether the table borders are collapsed into a single border or detached as in standard HTML | collapse separate | 5 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| border-spacing | Sets the distance that separates cell borders (only for the "separated borders" model) | length length | 5M | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| caption-side | Sets the position of the table caption | top bottom left right | 5M | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| empty-cells | Sets whether or not to show empty cells in a table (only for the "separated borders" model) | show hide | 5M | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| table-layout | Sets the algorithm used to display the table cells, rows, and columns | auto fixed | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
CSS Dimension Properties
The CSS dimension properties allow you to control the height and width of an element. It also allows you to increase the space between two lines.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| height | Sets the height of an element | auto length % | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| line-height | Sets the distance between lines | normal number length % | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| max-height | Sets the maximum height of an element | none length % | - | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| max-width | Sets the maximum width of an element | none length % | - | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| min-height | Sets the minimum height of an element | length % | - | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| min-width | Sets the minimum width of an element | length % | - | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| width | Sets the width of an element | auto % length | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
CSS Classification Properties
The CSS classification properties allow you to control how to display an element, set where an image will appear in another element, position an element relative to its normal position, position an element using an absolute value, and how to control the visibility of an element.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| clear | Sets the sides of an element where other floating elements are not allowed | left right both none | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| cursor | Specifies the type of cursor to be displayed | url auto crosshair default pointer move e-resize ne-resize nw-resize n-resize se-resize sw-resize s-resize w-resize text wait help | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| display | Sets how/if an element is displayed | none inline block list-item run-in compact marker table inline-table table-row-group table-header-group table-footer-group table-row table-column-group table-column table-cell table-caption | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| float | Sets where an image or a text will appear in another element | left right none | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| position | Places an element in a static, relative, absolute or fixed position | static relative absolute fixed | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| visibility | Sets if an element should be visible or invisible | visible hidden collapse | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
CSS Positioning Properties
The CSS positioning properties allow you to specify the left, right, top, and bottom position of an element. It also allows you to set the shape of an element, place an element behind another, and to specify what should happen when an element's content is too big to fit in a specified area.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bottom | Sets how far the bottom edge of an element is above/below the bottom edge of the parent element | auto % length | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| clip | Sets the shape of an element. The element is clipped into this shape, and displayed | shape auto | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| left | Sets how far the left edge of an element is to the right/left of the left edge of the parent element | auto % length | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| overflow | Sets what happens if the content of an element overflow its area | visible hidden scroll auto | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| position | Places an element in a static, relative, absolute or fixed position | static relative absolute fixed | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| right | Sets how far the right edge of an element is to the left/right of the right edge of the parent element | auto % length | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| top | Sets how far the top edge of an element is above/below the top edge of the parent element | auto % length | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| vertical-align | Sets the vertical alignment of an element | baseline sub super top text-top middle bottom text-bottom length % | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| z-index | Sets the stack order of an element | auto number | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
Syntax
The syntax of pseudo-classes:
| selector:pseudo-class {property:value} |
CSS classes can also be used with pseudo-classes:
| selector.class:pseudo-class {property:value} |
Anchor Pseudo-classes
Links can be displayed in different ways in a CSS-supporting browser:
| a:link {color:#FF0000} /* unvisited link */ a:visited {color:#00FF00} /* visited link */ a:hover {color:#FF00FF} /* mouse over link */ a:active {color:#0000FF} /* selected link */ |
Note: a:hover MUST come after a:link and a:visited in the CSS definition in order to be effective!!
Note: a:active MUST come after a:hover in the CSS definition in order to be effective!!
Note: Pseudo-class names are not case-sensitive.
Pseudo-classes and CSS Classes
Pseudo-classes can be combined with CSS classes:
a.red:visited {color:#FF0000}
<a class="red" href="css_syntax.asp">CSS Syntax</a>
If the link in the example above has been visited, it will be displayed in red.
CSS - The :first-child Pseudo-class
The :first-child pseudo-class matches a specified element that is the first child of another element.
Note: For :first-child to work in IE a <!DOCTYPE> must be declared.
Match the first <p> element
In the following example, the selector matches any <p> element that is the first child of any element:
Example
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
p:first-child
{
color:blue
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>I am a strong man.</p>
<p>I am a strong man.</p>
</body>
</html>
Match the first <i> element in all <p> elements
In the following example, the selector matches the first <i> element in all <p> elements:
Example
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
p > i:first-child
{
font-weight:bold
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>I am a <i>strong</i> man. I am a <i>strong</i> man.</p>
<p>I am a <i>strong</i> man. I am a <i>strong</i> man.</p>
</body>
</html>
Match all <i> elements in all first child <p> elements
In the following example, the selector matches all <i> elements in <p> elements that are the first child of another element:
Example
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
p:first-child i
{
color:blue
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>I am a <i>strong</i> man. I am a <i>strong</i> man.</p>
<p>I am a <i>strong</i> man. I am a <i>strong</i> man.</p>
</body>
</html>
CSS - The :lang Pseudo-class
The :lang pseudo-class allows you to define special rules for different languages. In the example below, the :lang class defines the type of quotation marks for q elements with a lang attribute with a value of "no":
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
q:lang(no)
{
quotes:"~" "~"
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Some text <q lang="no">A quote in a paragraph</q>
Some text.</p>
</body>
</html>
Pseudo-classes
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Pseudo-class | Purpose | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :active | Adds special style to an activated element | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| :focus | Adds special style to an element while the element has focus | - | 1.5 | 8 | 2 |
| :hover | Adds special style to an element when you mouse over it | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| :link | Adds special style to an unvisited link | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| :visited | Adds special style to a visited link | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| :first-child | Adds special style to an element that is the first child of some other element | 7 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| :lang | Allows the author to specify a language to use in a specified element | - | 1 | 8 | 2 |
Syntax
The syntax of pseudo-elements:
| selector:pseudo-element {property:value} |
CSS classes can also be used with pseudo-elements:
| selector.class:pseudo-element {property:value} |
The :first-line Pseudo-element
The "first-line" pseudo-element is used to add special styles to the first line of the text in a selector:
| p:first-line {color:#0000ff;font-variant:small-caps} <p>Some text that ends up on two or more lines</p> |
The output could be something like this:
Some text that ends up on two or more lines |
In the example above the browser displays the first line formatted according to the "first-line" pseudo element. Where the browser breaks the line depends on the size of the browser window.
Note: The "first-line" pseudo-element can only be used with block-level elements.
Note: The following properties apply to the "first-line" pseudo-element:;
- font properties
- color properties
- background properties
- word-spacing
- letter-spacing
- text-decoration
- vertical-align
- text-transform
- line-height
- clear
The :first-letter Pseudo-element
The "first-letter" pseudo-element is used to add special style to the first letter of the text in a selector:
| p:first-letter {color:#ff0000;font-size:xx-large} <p>The first words of an article...</p> |
The output could be something like this:
The first words of an article... |
Note: The "first-letter" pseudo-element can only be used with block-level elements.
Note: The following properties apply to the "first-letter" pseudo- element:
- font properties
- color properties
- background properties
- margin properties
- padding properties
- border properties
- text-decoration
- vertical-align (only if "float" is "none")
- text-transform
- line-height
- float
- clear
Pseudo-elements and CSS Classes
Pseudo-elements can be combined with CSS classes:
| p.article:first-letter {color:#ff0000} <p class="article">A paragraph in an article</p> |
The example above will make the first letter of all paragraphs with class="article" red.
Multiple Pseudo-elements
Several pseudo-elements can be combined:
| p:first-letter {color:#ff0000;font-size:xx-large} p:first-line {color:#0000ff} <p>The first words of an article...</p> |
The output could be something like this:
The first words of an article... |
In the example above the first letter of the paragraph will be red with a font size of 24pt. The rest of the first line would be blue while the rest of the paragraph would be the default color.
CSS - The :before Pseudo-element
The ":before" pseudo-element can be used to insert some content before the content of an element.
The style below will play a sound before each occurrence of an <h1> element:
| h1:before { content:url(beep.wav) } |
CSS - The :after Pseudo-element
The ":after" pseudo-element can be used to insert some content after the content of an element.
The style below will play a sound after each occurrence of an <h1> element:
| h1:after { content:url(beep.wav) } |
Pseudo-elements
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Pseudo-element | Purpose | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :first-letter | Adds special style to the first letter of a text | 5 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| :first-line | Adds special style to the first line of a text | 5 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| :before | Inserts some content before the content of an element | 1.5 | 8 | 2 | |
| :after | Inserts some content after the content of an element | 1.5 | 8 | 2 |
Image Gallery
The following image gallery is created with CSS:The source code looks like this:
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
div.img
{
margin:2px;
border:1px solid #0000ff;
height:auto;
width:auto;
float:left;
text-align:center;
}
div.img img
{
display:inline;
margin:3px;
border:1px solid #ffffff;
}
div.img a:hover img
{
border:1px solid #0000ff;
}
div.desc
{
text-align:center;
font-weight:normal;
width:120px;
margin:2px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="img">
<a target="_blank" href="http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww34/cyberx5050/blog/klematis2_small.jpg">
<img src="http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww34/cyberx5050/blog/klematis2_small.jpg"
alt="Klematis" width="110" height="90" />
</a>
<div class="desc">Add a description of the image here</div>
</div>
<div class="img">
<a target="_blank" href="http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww34/cyberx5050/blog/klematis3_small.jpg">
<img src="http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww34/cyberx5050/blog/klematis3_small.jpg"
alt="Klematis" width="110" height="90" />
</a>
<div class="desc">Add a description of the image here</div>
</div>
<div class="img">
<a target="_blank" href="http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww34/cyberx5050/blog/klematis4_small.jpg">
<img src="http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww34/cyberx5050/blog/klematis4_small.jpg"
alt="Klematis" width="110" height="90" />
</a>
<div class="desc">Add a description of the image here</div>
</div>
<div class="img">
<a target="_blank" href="http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww34/cyberx5050/blog/klematis_small.jpg">
<img src="http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww34/cyberx5050/blog/klematis_small.jpg"
alt="Klematis" width="110" height="90" />
</a>
<div class="desc">Add a description of the image here</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Output
