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<h1>CSS Values and Units Module Level 3</h1>
<pre class='metadata'>
Group: CSSWG
Shortname: css-values
Level: 3
Status: ED
ED: http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css-values/
TR: http://www.w3.org/TR/css-values/
Previous Version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2013/CR-css3-values-20130730/
Previous Version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2013/CR-css3-values-20130404/
Previous Version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/CR-css3-values-20120828/
Previous Version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-css3-values-20120308/
Previous Version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2011/WD-css3-values-20110906/
Previous Version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-css3-values-20060919
Previous Version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2005/WD-css3-values-20050726
Previous Version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/WD-css3-values-20010713/
Editor: Tab Atkins, Google, http://xanthir.com/contact/
Editor: fantasai, http://fantasai.inkedblade.net/contact
Former Editor: Håkon Wium Lie, Opera Software, howcome@opera.com
Abstract: This CSS3 module describes the common values and units that CSS properties accept and the syntax used for describing them in CSS property definitions.
!Issue Tracking: <a rel="issues" href="http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/Tracker/products/33">http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/Tracker/products/33</a>
At Risk: ''calc()'', ''toggle()'', ''attr()''
Ignored Terms: <spacing-limit>, containing block
Link Defaults: css-backgrounds-3 (type) <position>
</pre>
<style>
code, small { white-space: nowrap }
pre.value { font: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap; margin: 0; padding: 0; }
#propvalues td { text-align: right; }
#propvalues td + td { text-align: left; }
dt + dt::before { content: ", "; }
dt { display: inline; }
td > small { display: block; }
</style>
<h2 id="intro">
Introduction</h2>
The value definition field of each CSS property can contain keywords,
data types (which appear between ''<'' and ''>''), and information on how
they can be combined.
Generic data types (<<length>> being the most widely used)
that can be used by many properties are described in this specification,
while more specific data types (e.g., <<spacing-limit>>)
are described in the corresponding modules.
<h3 id="placement">
Module Interactions</h3>
This module replaces and extends the data type definitions in [[!CSS21]]
sections
<a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/about.html#value-defs">1.4.2.1</a>,
<a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/syndata.html#values">4.3</a>,
and <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/aural.html#aural-intro">A.2</a>.
<h2 id="value-defs">
Value Definition Syntax</h2>
The syntax described here is used to define the set of valid values
for CSS properties. A property value can have one or more components.
<h3 id="component-types">
Component value types</h3>
Component value types are designated in several ways:
<ol>
<li>
<a href="#keywords">keyword</a> values (such as ''auto'', ''disc'', etc.),
which appear literally, without quotes (e.g. <code>auto</code>)
<li>
basic data types, which appear between ''<'' and ''>''
(e.g., <<length>>, <<percentage>>, etc.).
<li>
types that have the same range of values as a property bearing the same name
(e.g., <<'border-width'>>, <<'background-attachment'>>, etc.).
In this case, the type name is the property name (complete with quotes) between the brackets.
Such a type does <em>not</em> include <a href="#common-keywords">CSS-wide keywords</a> such as ''inherit''.
<li>
non-terminals that do not share the same name as a property.
In this case, the non-terminal name appears between ''<'' and ''>'',
as in <<spacing-limit>>.
Notice the distinction between <<border-width>> and <<'border-width'>>:
the latter is defined as the value of the 'border-width' property,
the former requires an explicit expansion elsewhere.
The definition of a non-terminal is typically located near its first appearance in the specification.
</ol>
Some property value definitions also include the slash (/),
the comma (,),
and/or parentheses as literals.
These represent their corresponding tokens.
Other non-keyword literal characters that may appear in a component value,
such as “+”,
must be written enclosed in single quotes.
All CSS properties also accept the <a href="#common-keywords">CSS-wide keyword values</a>
as the sole component of their property value.
For readability these are not listed explicitly in the property value syntax definitions.
For example, the full value definition of 'border-color'
is <code><color>{1,4} | inherit | initial | unset</code>
(even though it is listed as <code><color>{1,4}</code>).
Note: This implies that, in general,
combining these keywords with other component values in the same declaration
results in an invalid declaration.
For example,
''background: url(corner.png) no-repeat, inherit;'' is invalid.
<h3 id="component-combinators">
Component value combinators</h3>
Component values can be arranged into property values as follows:
<ul>
<li>Juxtaposing components means that
all of them must occur, in the given order.
<li>A double ampersand (&&) separates two or more components,
all of which must occur, in any order.
<li>A double bar (||) separates two or more options:
one or more of them must occur, in any order.
<li>A bar (|) separates two or more alternatives:
exactly one of them must occur.
<li>Brackets ([ ]) are for grouping.
</ul>
Juxtaposition is stronger than the double ampersand, the double
ampersand is stronger than the double bar, and the double bar
is stronger than the bar. Thus, the following lines are equivalent:
<pre>
a b | c || d && e f
[ a b ] | [ c || [ d && [ e f ]]]
</pre>
For re-orderable combinators (||, &&),
ordering of the grammar does not matter:
components in the same grouping may be interleaved in any order.
Thus, the following lines are equivalent:
<pre>
a || b || c
b || a || c
</pre>
<h3 id="component-multipliers">
Component value multipliers</h3>
Every type, keyword, or bracketed group may be followed by one of
the following modifiers:
<ul>
<li>An asterisk (*) indicates that the preceding type, word, or
group occurs zero or more times.
<li>A plus (+) indicates that the preceding type, word, or group
occurs one or more times.
<li>A question mark (?) indicates that the preceding type, word, or
group is optional (occurs zero or one times).
<li>A single number in curly braces ({<var>A</var>})
indicates that the preceding type, word, or group occurs <var>A</var> times.
<li>A comma-separated pair of numbers in curly braces ({<var>A</var>,<var>B</var>})
indicates that the preceding type, word, or group occurs at least
<var>A</var> and at most <var>B</var> times.
The <var>B</var> may be omitted ({<var>A</var>,})
to indicate that there must be at least <var>A</var> repetitions,
with no upper bound on the number of repetitions.
<li>A hash mark (#) indicates that the preceding type, word, or
group occurs one or more times, separated by comma tokens
(which may optionally be surrounded by white space and/or comments).
It may optionally be followed by the curly brace forms, above,
to indicate precisely how many times the repetition occurs,
like ''<length>#{1,4}''.
</ul>
For repeated component values (indicated by ''*'', ''+'', or ''#''),
UAs must support at least 20 repetitions of the component.
If a property value contains more than the supported number of repetitions,
the declaration must be ignored as if it were invalid.
<h3 id="component-whitespace">
Component values and white space</h3>
Unless otherwise specified,
white space and/or comments may appear before, after, and/or between
components combined using the above
<a href="#component-combinators">combinators</a> and
<a href="#component-multipliers">multipliers</a>.
Note: In many cases, spaces will in fact be <em>required</em> between components
in order to distinguish them from each other.
For example, the value ''1em2em'' would be parsed as a single <<dimension-token>>
with the number ''1'' and the identifier ''em2em'',
which is an invalid unit.
In this case, a space would be required before the ''2''
to get this parsed as the two lengths ''1em''and ''2em''.
<h3 id="value-examples">
Property value examples</h3>
Below are some examples of properties with their corresponding value
definition fields
<div class=example>
<table class="data" id="propvalues">
<thead>
<tr><th>Property
<th>Value definition field
<th>Example value
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>'orphans'
<td><integer>
<td>''3''
<tr><td>'text-align'
<td>left | right | center | justify
<td>''center''
<tr><td>'padding-top'
<td><length> | <percentage>
<td>''5%''
<tr><td>'outline-color'
<td><color> | invert
<td>''#fefefe''
<tr><td>'text-decoration'
<td>none | underline || overline || line-through || blink
<td>''overline underline''
<tr><td><a property>font-family</a>
<td>[ <family-name> | <generic-family> ]#
<td>''"Gill Sans", Futura, sans-serif''
<tr><td>'border-width'
<td>[ <length> | thick | medium | thin ]{1,4}
<td>''2px medium 4px''
<tr><td>'text-shadow'
<td>[ inset? && [ <length>{2,4} && <color>? ] ]# | none
<td>''3px 3px rgba(50%, 50%, 50%, 50%), lemonchiffon 0 0 4px inset''
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<h2 id="textual-values">
Textual Data Types</h2>
An <dfn>identifier</dfn> is a sequence of characters conforming to the <<ident-token>> grammar. [[!CSS3SYN]]
Identifiers cannot be quoted;
otherwise they would be interpreted as a string.
<h3 id="keywords">
Pre-defined Keywords</h3>
In the value definition fields,
keywords with a pre-defined meaning appear literally.
Keywords are CSS <i>identifiers</i>
and are interpreted <a title="ASCII case-insensitive">ASCII case-insensitively</a>
(i.e., [a-z] and [A-Z] are equivalent).
<div class="example">
For example, here is the value definition for the 'border-collapse'
property:
<pre>Value: collapse | separate</pre>
And here is an example of its use:
<pre>table { border-collapse: separate }</pre>
</div>
<h4 id="common-keywords">
CSS-wide keywords: ''initial'' and ''inherit''</h4>
As defined <a href="#component-types">above</a>,
all properties accept the <dfn>CSS-wide keywords</dfn>,
which represent value computations common to all CSS properties.
The ''initial'' keyword represents the value specified as the property's initial value.
The ''inherit'' keyword represents the computed value of the property on the element's parent.
The ''unset'' keyword acts as either ''inherit'' or ''initial'',
depending on whether the property is inherited or not.
All of these keywords are normatively defined in the Cascade module. [[!CSS3CASCADE]]
Other CSS specifications can define
D4C
additional CSS-wide keywords.
<!-- Make it easier to add CSS-wide keywords by defining a grammar production. -->
<h3 id='custom-idents'>
Author-defined Identifiers: the <<custom-ident>> type</h3>
Some properties accept arbitrary author-defined identifiers as a component value.
This generic data type is denoted by <dfn id="identifier-value"><custom-ident></dfn>,
and represents any valid CSS <i>identifier</i>
that would not be misinterpreted as a pre-defined keyword in that property's value definition.
Such identifiers are fully case-sensitive,
even in the ASCII range
(e.g. ''example'' and ''EXAMPLE'' are two different, unrelated user-defined identifiers).
The <a>CSS-wide keywords</a> are not valid <<custom-ident>>s.
The ''default'' keyword is reserved
and is also not a valid <<custom-ident>>.
Specifications using <<custom-ident>> should specify clearly
what other keywords are excluded from <<custom-ident>>—for
example by saying that any pre-defined keywords in that property's value definition are excluded.
As a general rule, an identifier that could be interpreted as a pre-defined keyword
in any position or multiplication of the <<custom-ident>> component value
is excluded,
and is invalid as a <<custom-ident>> matching to that component value
even in positions where its use would be technically unambiguous.
For example, if a keyword could be misparsed when specified
as the first item of a ''<<custom-ident>>+'' list,
it is invalid when specified in any position in that list.
Excluded keywords are excluded in all ASCII case permutations.
<h3 id="strings">
Quoted Strings: the <<string>> type</h3>
<dfn export title="string">Strings</dfn> are denoted by <dfn id="string-value"><string></dfn>
and consist of a sequence of characters delimited by double quotes or
single quotes. They correspond to the <<string-token>> production
in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css-syntax/">CSS Syntax Module</a> [[!CSS3SYN]].
<div class=example>
Double quotes cannot occur inside double quotes, unless
<a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/syndata.html#escaped-characters">escaped</a>
(as <code>"\""</code> or as <code>"\22"</code>).
Analogously for single quotes (<code>'\''</code> or <code>'\27'</code>).
<pre>
content: "this is a 'string'.";
content: "this is a \"string\".";
content: 'this is a "string".';
content: 'this is a \'string\'.'
</pre>
</div>
It is possible to break strings over several lines, for aesthetic or
other reasons, but in such a case the newline itself has to be escaped
with a backslash (\). The newline is subsequently removed from the
string. For instance, the following two selectors are exactly the
same:
<div class="example">
<p style="display:none">Example(s):
<pre>
a[title="a not s\
o very long title"] {/*...*/}
a[title="a not so very long title"] {/*...*/}
</pre>
</div>
Since a string cannot directly represent a newline, to include a
newline in a string, use the escape "\A". (Hexadecimal A is the line
feed character in Unicode (U+000A), but represents the generic notion
of "newline" in CSS.)
<h3 id="urls">
Resource Locators: the <<url>> type</h3>
A <dfn>URL</dfn> is a pointer to a resource
and is a <a title="consume a url token" spec=css-syntax>specially-parsed</a> <a href="#functional-notation">functional notation</a>
denoted by <dfn id="url-value"><url></dfn>.
It corresponds to the <<url-token>> production
in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css-syntax/">CSS Syntax Module</a> [[!CSS3SYN]].
<div class="example">
Below is an example of a URL being used as a background image:
<pre>body { background: url("http://www.example.com/pinkish.gif") }</pre>
The same example can be written without quotes:
<pre>body { background: url(http://www.example.com/pinkish.gif) }</pre>
</div>
Note: Note that in some CSS syntactic contexts (as defined by that context),
a URL can be represented as a <<string>> rather than by <<url>>.
An example of this is the ''@import'' rule.
Parentheses, whitespace characters, single quotes (') and double quotes (") appearing in a URL
must be escaped with a backslash
so that the resulting value is a valid <<url-token>>,
e.g. ''url(open\(parens)'', ''url(close\)parens)''.
Depending on the type of URL,
it might also be possible to write these characters as URI-escapes
(e.g. ''url(open%28parens)'' or ''url(close%29parens)'')
as described in [[URI]].
Alternatively a URL containing such characters may be represented as a quoted <a>string</a> within the ''url()'' notation.
In order to create modular style sheets that are not dependent on
the absolute location of a resource, authors should use relative URIs.
Relative URIs (as defined in [[!URI]]) are resolved to full URIs
using a base URI. RFC 3986, section 3, defines the normative
algorithm for this process.
For CSS style sheets, the base URI is that of the style sheet itself,
not that of the styled source document.
Style sheets embedded within a document have
the base URL associated with their container.
When a <<url>> appears in the computed value of a property,
it is resolved to an absolute URL,
as described in the preceding paragraph.
The computed value of a URI that the UA cannot resolve to an absolute URI is the specified value.
<div class="example">
For example, suppose the following rule:
<pre>body { background: url("tile.png") }</pre>
is located in a style sheet designated by the URL:
<pre>http://www.example.org/style/basic.css</pre>
The background of the source document's <code><body></code>
will be tiled with whatever image is described by the resource designated by the URL:
<pre>http://www.example.org/style/tile.png</pre>
The same image will be used regardless of the URL of the source document containing the <code><body></code>.
</div>
<h2 id="numeric-types">
Numeric Data Types</h2>
Properties may restrict numeric values to some range.
If the value is outside the allowed range,
the declaration is invalid and must be <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/conform.html#ignore">ignored</a>.
CSS theoretically supports infinite precision and infinite ranges for all value types;
however in reality implementations have finite capacity.
UAs should support reasonably useful ranges and precisions.
<!--
The recommended minimum ranges and precision,
and the required rounding and clamping rules,
are given in <a href="#required-ranges">Appendix A</a>.
-->
<h3 id="integers">
Integers: the <<integer>> type</h3>
Integer values are denoted by <dfn id="integer-value"><integer></dfn>.
An <dfn>integer</dfn> is one or more decimal digits ''0'' through ''9''
and corresponds to a subset of the <<number-token>> production
in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css-syntax/">CSS Syntax Module</a> [[!CSS3SYN]].
The first digit of an integer may be immediately preceded by ''-'' or ''+''
to indicate the integer's sign.
<h3 id="numbers">
Real Numbers: the <<number>> type</h3>
Number values are denoted by <dfn id="number-value"><number></dfn>.
A <dfn>number</dfn> is either an <<integer>>
or zero or more decimal digits followed by a dot (.) followed by one or more decimal digits.
It corresponds to the <<number-token>> production
in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css-syntax/">CSS Syntax Module</a> [[!CSS3SYN]].
As with integers, the first character of a number may be immediately preceded by ''-'' or ''+''
to indicate the number's sign.
<h3 id="percentages">
Percentages: the <<percentage>> type</h3>
A <dfn>percentage</dfn> value is denoted by
<dfn id="percentage-value"><percentage></dfn>,
and consists of a <<number>>
immediately followed by a percent sign ''%''.
It corresponds to the <<percentage-token>> production
in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css-syntax/">CSS Syntax Module</a> [[!CSS3SYN]].
Percentage values are always relative to another value,
for example a length.
Each property that allows percentages also defines the value to which the percentage refers.
The value may be that of another property for the same element,
a property for an ancestor element,
or a value of the formatting context
(e.g., the width of a <i>containing block</i>).
<h3 id='dimensions'>
Numbers with Units: <i>dimensions</i></h3>
A <dfn>dimension</dfn> is a <<number>>
immediately followed by a unit identifier.
It corresponds to the <<dimension-token>> production
in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css-syntax/">CSS Syntax Module</a> [[!CSS3SYN]].
Like keywords, unit identifiers are <a>ASCII case-insensitive</a>.
<p>CSS uses <i>dimensions</i> to specify
distances (<var><length></var>),
durations (<var><time></var>),
frequencies (<var><frequency></var>),
resolutions (<var><resolution></var>),
and other quantities.
<h2 id="lengths">
Distance Units: the <<length>> type</h2>
Lengths refer to distance measurements
and are denoted by <dfn id="length-value"><length></dfn> in the property definitions.
A length is a <i>dimension</i>.
However, for zero lengths the unit identifier is optional
(i.e. can be syntactically represented as the <<number>> ''0'').
Properties may restrict the length value to some range.
If the value is outside the allowed range,
the declaration is invalid and must be <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/conform.html#ignore">ignored</a>.
While some properties allow negative length values,
this may complicate the formatting and there may be implementation-specific limits.
If a negative length value is allowed but cannot be supported,
it must be converted to the nearest value that can be supported.
In cases where the <a title="used value">used</a> length cannot be supported,
user agents must approximate it in the <a title="actual value">actual</a> value.
There are two types of length units: <a title="relative length">relative</a> and <a title="absolute length">absolute</a>.
<h3 id="relative-lengths">
Relative lengths</h3>
<dfn title="relative length">Relative length units</dfn> specify a length relative to another length.
Style sheets that use relative units can more easily scale from one output environment to another.
The relative units are:
<table class="data">
<caption>Informative Summary of Relative Units</caption>
<thead>
<tr><th>unit<th>relative to
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>''em''
<td>font size of the element
<tr><td>''ex''
<td>x-height of the element's font
<tr><td>''ch''
<td>width of the "0" (ZERO, U+0030) glyph in the element's font
<tr><td>''rem''
<td>font size of the root element
<tr><td>''vw''
<td>1% of viewport's width
<tr><td>''vh''
<td>1% viewport's height
<tr><td>''vmin''
<td>1% of viewport's smaller dimension
<tr><td>''vmax''
<td>1% of viewport's larger dimension
</tbody>
</table>
Child elements do not inherit the relative values as specified for their parent;
they inherit the <a>computed values</a>.
<h4 id="font-relative-lengths">
Font-relative lengths: the ''em'', ''ex'', ''ch'', ''rem'' units</h4>
Aside from ''rem'' (which refers to the font-size of the root element),
the font-relative lengths refer to the font metrics of the element on which they are used.
The exception is when they occur in the value of the 'font-size' property itself,
in which case they refer to the computed font metrics of the parent element
(or the computed font metrics corresponding to the initial values of the 'font' property,
if the element has no parent).
<dl export>
<dt><dfn title="em">em unit</dfn>
<dd>
Equal to the computed value of the 'font-size' property of the element on which it is used.
<div class="example">
The rule:
<pre>h1 { line-height: 1.2em }</pre>
means that the line height of <code>h1</code> elements
will be 20% greater than the font size of <code>h1</code> element.
On the other hand:
<pre>h1 { font-size: 1.2em }</pre>
means that the font size of <code>h1</code> elements
will be 20% greater than the computed font size inherited by <code>h1</code> elements.
</div>
<dt><dfn title="ex">ex unit</dfn>
<dd>
Equal to the used x-height of the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-fonts/#first-available-font">first available font</a>. [[!CSS3-FONTS]]
The x-height is so called because it is often equal to the height of the lowercase "x".
However, an ''ex'' is defined even for fonts that do not contain an "x".
The x-height of a font can be found in different ways. Some fonts
contain reliable metrics for the x-height. If reliable font metrics
are not available, UAs may determine the x-height from the height
of a lowercase glyph. One possible heuristic is to look at how far
the glyph for the lowercase "o" extends below the baseline, and
subtract that value from the top of its bounding box. In the cases
where it is impossible or impractical to determine the x-height,
a value of 0.5em must be assumed.
<dt><dfn title="ch">ch unit</dfn>
<dd>
Equal to the used advance measure of the "0" (ZERO, U+0030) glyph
found in the font used to render it.
In the cases where it is impossible or impractical to determine the measure of the "0" glyph,
a value of 0.5em must be assumed.
<dt><dfn title="rem">rem unit</dfn>
<dd>
Equal to the computed value of 'font-size' on the root element.
When specified on the 'font-size' property of the root element,
the ''rem'' units refer to the property's <em>initial value</em>.
</dl>
<h4 id="viewport-relative-lengths">
Viewport-percentage lengths: the ''vw'', ''vh'', ''vmin'', ''vmax'' units</h4>
The viewport-percentage lengths are relative to the size of the
<a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/visudet.html#containing-block-details">initial containing block</a>.
When the height or width of the initial containing block is changed,
they are scaled accordingly.
However, when the value of 'overflow' on the root element is ''auto'',
any scroll bars are assumed not to exist.
<span class='note'>Note that the initial containing block's size is affected by the presence of scrollbars on the viewport.</span>
For paged media, the exact definition of the viewport-percentage lengths
is deferred to [[!CSS3PAGE]].
<dl export>
<dt><dfn title="vw">vw unit</dfn>
<dd>
Equal to 1% of the width of the initial containing block.
<div class="example">
In the example below, if the width of the viewport is 200mm,
the font size of <code>h1</code> elements will be 16mm
(i.e. (8×200mm)/100).
<pre>h1 { font-size: 8vw }</pre>
</div>
<dt><dfn title="vh">vh unit</dfn>
<dd>
Equal to 1% of the height of the initial containing block.
<dt><dfn title="vmin">vmin unit</dfn>
<dd>
Equal to the smaller of ''vw'' or ''vh''.
<dt><dfn title="vmax">vmax unit</dfn>
<dd>
Equal to the larger of ''vw'' or ''vh''.
</dl>
<h3 id="absolute-lengths">
Absolute lengths: the ''cm'', ''mm'', ''q'', ''in'', ''pt'', ''pc'', ''px'' units</h3>
The <dfn title="absolute length">absolute length units</dfn> are fixed in relation to each other
and anchored to some physical measurement.
They are mainly useful when the output environment is known.
The absolute units consist of
the <dfn>physical units</dfn> (''in'', ''cm'', ''mm'', ''pt'', ''pc'', ''q'')
and the <dfn>visual angle unit</dfn> (''px''):
<table class="data" export>
<thead>
<tr><th>unit
<th>name
<th>equivalence
<tbody>
<tr><th><dfn>cm</dfn>
<td>centimeters
<td>1cm = 96px/2.54
<tr><th><dfn>mm</dfn>
<td>millimeters
<td>1mm = 1/10th of 1cm
<tr><th><dfn>q</dfn>
<td>quarter-millimeters
<td>1q = 1/40th of 1cm
<tr><th><dfn>in</dfn>
<td>inches
<td>1in = 2.54cm = 96px
<tr><th><dfn>pc</dfn>
<td>picas
<td>1pc = 1/6th of 1in
<tr><th><dfn>pt</dfn>
<td>points
<td>1pt = 1/72th of 1in
<tr><th><dfn title="px|pixel unit">px</dfn>
<td>pixels
<td>1px = 1/96th of 1in
</table>
<div class="example">
<pre>
h1 { margin: 0.5in } /* inches */
h2 { line-height: 3cm } /* centimeters */
h3 { word-spacing: 4mm } /* millimeters */
h3 { letter-spacing: 1Q } /* quarter-millimeters */
h4 { font-size: 12pt } /* points */
h4 { font-size: 1pc } /* picas */
p { font-size: 12px } /* px */
</pre>
</div>
For a CSS device, these dimensions are anchored either
<ul>
<li>(i) by relating the <i>physical units</i> to their physical measurements, or
<li>(ii) by relating the <i>pixel unit</i> to the <i>reference pixel</i>.
</ul>
For print media and similar high-resolution devices,
the anchor unit should be one of the standard physical units (inches, centimeters, etc).
For lower-resolution devices,
and devices with unusual viewing distances,
it is recommended instead that the anchor unit be the pixel unit.
For such devices it is recommended that the pixel unit
refer to the whole number of device pixels that best approximates the reference pixel.
Note: Note that if the anchor unit is the pixel unit,
the physical units might not match their physical measurements.
Alternatively if the anchor unit is a physical unit,
the pixel unit might not map to a whole number of device pixels.
Note: Note that this definition of the pixel unit and the physical units
differs from previous versions of CSS.
In particular, in previous versions of CSS the pixel unit and the physical units
were not related by a fixed ratio:
the physical units were always tied to their physical measurements
while the pixel unit would vary to most closely match the reference pixel.
(This change was made because too much existing content relies on the assumption of 96dpi,
and breaking that assumption breaks the content.)
The <dfn export>reference pixel</dfn> is the visual angle of one pixel on a device with a pixel density of 96dpi
and a distance from the reader of an arm's length.
For a nominal arm's length of 28 inches,
the visual angle is therefore about 0.0213 degrees.
For reading at arm's length,
1px thus corresponds to about 0.26 mm (1/96 inch).
The image below illustrates the effect of viewing distance on the size of a reference pixel:
a reading distance of 71 cm (28 inches)
results in a reference pixel of 0.26 mm,
while a reading distance of 3.5 m (12 feet)
results in a reference pixel of 1.3 mm.
<figure>
<img src="pixel1.png"
alt="This diagram illustrates how the definition of a pixel
depends on the users distance from the viewing surface
(paper or screen).
The image depicts the user looking at two planes, one
28 inches (71 cm) from the user, the second 140 inches
(3.5 m) from the user. An expanding cone is projected
from the user's eye onto each plane. Where the cone
strikes the first plane, the projected pixel is 0.26 mm
high. Where the cone strikes the second plane, the
projected pixel is 1.4 mm high.">
<figcaption>Showing that pixels must become larger if the viewing distance increases</figcaption>
</figure>
This second image illustrates the effect of a device's resolution
on the pixel unit: an area of 1px by 1px is covered by a single dot
in a low-resolution device (e.g. a typical computer display), while
the same area is covered by 16 dots in a higher resolution device
(such as a printer).
<figure>
<img src="pixel2.png"
alt='This diagram illustrates the relationship between the
reference pixel and device pixels (called "dots" below).
The image depicts a high resolution (large dot density)
laser printer output on the left and a low resolution
monitor screen on the right. For the laser printer, one
square reference pixel is implemented by 16 dots. For
the monitor screen, one square reference pixel is
implemented by a single dot.'>
<figcaption>Showing that more device pixels (dots) are needed to cover a 1px by 1px area on a high-resolution device than on a low-res one</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2 id="other-units">
Other Quantities</h2>
<h3 id="angles">
Angle Units: the <<angle>> type and ''deg'', ''grad'', ''rad'', ''turn'' units</h3>
Angle values are <i>dimensions</i> denoted by <dfn id="angle-value"><angle></dfn>.
The angle unit identifiers are:
<dl export>
<dt><dfn>deg</dfn>
<dd>
Degrees. There are 360 degrees in a full circle.
<dt><dfn>grad</dfn>
<dd>
Gradians, also known as "gons" or "grades".
There are 400 gradians in a full circle.
<dt><dfn>rad</dfn>
<dd>
Radians. There are 2π radians in a full circle.
<dt><dfn>turn</dfn>
<dd>
Turns. There is 1 turn in a full circle.
</dl>
For example, a right angle is ''90deg'' or ''100grad'' or ''0.25turn'' or
approximately ''1.57rad''.
<h3 id="time">
Duration Units: the <<time>> type and ''s'', ''ms'' units</h3>
Time values are <i>dimensions</i> denoted by <dfn id="time-value"><time></dfn>.
The time unit identifiers are:
<dl export>
<dt><dfn>s</dfn>
<dd>Seconds.
<dt><dfn>ms</dfn>
<dd>Milliseconds. There are 1000 milliseconds in a second.
</dl>
Properties may restrict the time value to some range.
If the value is outside the allowed range,
the declaration is invalid and must be <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/conform.html#ignore">ignored</a>.
<h3 id="frequency">
Frequency Units: the <<frequency>> type and ''Hz'', ''kHz'' units</h3>
Frequency values are <i>dimensions</i> denoted by <dfn id="frequency-value"><frequency></dfn>.
The frequency unit identifiers are:
<dl export>
<dt><dfn>Hz</dfn>
<dd>Hertz. It represents the number of occurrences per second.
<dt><dfn>kHz</dfn>
<dd>KiloHertz. A kiloHertz is 1000 Hertz.
</dl>
For example, when representing sound pitches, 200Hz (or 200hz)
is a bass sound, and 6kHz (or 6khz) is a treble sound.
<h3 id="resolution">
Resolution Units: the <<resolution>> type and ''dpi'', ''dpcm'', ''dppx'' units</h3>
Resolution units are <i>dimensions</i> denoted by <dfn id="resolution-value"><resolution></dfn>.
The resolution unit identifiers are:
<dl export>
<dt><dfn>dpi</dfn>
<dd>dots per inch
<dt><dfn>dpcm</dfn>
<dd>dots per centimeter
<dt><dfn>dppx</dfn>
<dd>dots per ''px'' unit
</dl>
The <<resolution>> unit represents the size of a single "dot" in a graphical representation
by indicating how many of these dots fit in a CSS ''in'', ''cm'', or ''px''.
For uses, see e.g. the ''resolution'' media query in [[MEDIAQ]]
or the 'image-resolution' property defined in [[CSS3-IMAGES]].
Note: Note that due to the 1:96 fixed ratio of CSS ''in'' to CSS ''px'',
''1dppx'' is equivalent to ''96dpi''.
This corresponds to the default resolution of images displayed in CSS: see 'image-resolution'.
<div class="example">
The following @media rule uses Media Queries [[MEDIAQ]]
to assign some special style rules to devices that use two or more device pixels per CSS ''px'' unit:
<pre>@media (min-resolution: 2dppx) { ... }</pre>
</div>
<h2 id="defined-elsewhere">
Data Types Defined Elsewhere</h2>
Some data types are defined in their own modules.
This example talks about some of the most common ones
used across several specifications.
<h3 id="colors">
Colors: the <<color>> type</h3>
The <<color>> data type is defined in [[!CSS3COLOR]].
UAs that support CSS Color Level 3 or its successor must interpret <<color>> as defined therein.
<h3 id="images">
Images: the <<image>> type</h3>
The <<image>> data type is defined in [[!CSS3-IMAGES]].
UAs that support CSS Image Values Level 3 or its successor must interpret <<image>> as defined therein.
<h3 id="position">
2D Positioning: the <<position>> type</h3>
The <<position>> data type is defined in [[!CSS3BG]].
UAs that support CSS Backgrounds & Borders Level 3 or its successor must interpret <<position>> as defined therein.
<h2 id="functional-notation">
Functional Notations</h2>
A <dfn>functional notation</dfn> is a type of component value
that can represent more complex types or invoke special processing.
The syntax starts with the name of the function
immediately followed by a left parenthesis
(i.e. a <<function-token>>)
followed by the argument(s) to the notation
followed by a right parenthesis.
White space is allowed, but optional, immediately inside the parentheses.
Functions can take multiple arguments,
which are formatted similarly to a CSS property value.
Some legacy functional notations, such as ''rgba()'', use commas unnecessarily,
but generally commas are only used to separate items in a list,
or pieces of a grammar that would be ambiguous otherwise.
If a comma is used to separate arguments,
whitespace is optional before and after the comma.
<div class="example">
<pre>
background: url(http://www.example.org/image);
color: rgb(100, 200, 50 );
content: counter(list-item) ". ";
width: calc(50% - 2em);
</pre>
</div>
<h3 id="calc-notation">
Mathematical Expressions: ''calc()''</h3>
The <dfn>calc()</dfn> function allows mathematical expressions
with addition (''+''), subtraction (''-''), multiplication (''*''), and division (''/'')
to be used as component values.
The ''calc()'' expression represents the result of the mathematical calculation it contains,
using standard operator precedence rules.
It can be used wherever
<<length>>,
<<frequency>>,
<<angle>>,
<<time>>,
<<number>>, or
<<integer>>
values are allowed.
Components of a ''calc()'' expression can be literal values,
''attr()'' or ''calc()'' expressions,
or <<percentage>> values that resolve to one of the preceding types.
<div class="example">
<pre>
section {
float: left;
margin: 1em; border: solid 1px;
width: calc(100%/3 - 2*1em - 2*1px);
}
</pre>
</div>
<div class="example">
<pre>
p {
margin: calc(1rem - 2px) calc(1rem - 1px);
}
</pre>
</div>
<div class="example">
The following sets the 'font-size' so that exactly 40em fits within the viewport,
ensuring that roughly the same amount of text always fills the screen no matter the screen size.
<pre>
:root {
font-size: calc(100vw / 40);
}
</pre>
If the rest of the design is specified using the ''rem'' unit,
the entire layout will scale to match the viewport width.
</div>
<div class='example'>
The following example stacks two centered background images,
with one offset slightly from the other.
<pre>
.foo {
background: url(top.png), url(bottom.png);
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: calc(50% + 20px) calc(50% + 20px), 50% 50%;
}