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Css

The document provides information about CSS including: - CSS is used to control the style and layout of multiple web pages from a single stylesheet. - The document includes CSS tutorials, examples, quizzes and a reference section to help users learn CSS. - CSS uses selectors, properties and values to define styles, for example "p {color: blue}" would make all <p> text blue. Styles can be defined internally, externally or via inline styling.

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alnaseh
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
3K views

Css

The document provides information about CSS including: - CSS is used to control the style and layout of multiple web pages from a single stylesheet. - The document includes CSS tutorials, examples, quizzes and a reference section to help users learn CSS. - CSS uses selectors, properties and values to define styles, for example "p {color: blue}" would make all <p> text blue. Styles can be defined internally, externally or via inline styling.

Uploaded by

alnaseh
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CSS

CSS Tutorial

Save a lot of work with CSS!

In our CSS tutorial you will learn how to use CSS to control
the style and layout of multiple Web pages all at once.

Start learning CSS now!

CSS Examples

Learn by 150 examples! With our editor, you can edit CSS, and click on a test button to view the
result.

Try-It-Yourself!

CSS Quiz Test

Test your CSS skills at W3Schools!

Start CSS Quiz!

CSS Reference

At W3Schools you will find a complete CSS2 reference with syntax, examples, browser support,
and more.

CSS2 Reference or CSS2 Reference - Alphabetically

We also have a complete CSS2 aural reference and an overview of CSS units and colors.

CSS2 Aural Reference

CSS Units

CSS Colors

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CSS Introduction

What you should already know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

• HTML / XHTML

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.

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 a lot of work
• External Style Sheets are stored in CSS files
• Multiple style definitions will cascade into one

CSS demo

An HTML document can be displayed with different styles: See how it works

Styles solved a big problem

The original HTML was never intended to contain tags for formatting a document. HTML tags
were intended to define the content of a document, like:

<p>This is a paragraph.</p>

<h1>This is a heading</h1>

When tags like <font> and color attributes were added to the HTML 3.2 specification, it started
a nightmare for web developers. Development of large web sites where fonts and color
information had to be added to every single Web page, became a long, expensive and unduly
painful process.

To solve this problem, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) - responsible for standardizing
HTML - created CSS in addition to HTML 4.0.

With HTML 4.0, all formatting can be removed from the HTML document and stored in a
separate CSS file.
All browsers support CSS today.

Styles save a lot of work

Styles sheets define HOW HTML elements are to be displayed.

Styles are normally saved in external .css files. External style sheets enable you to change the
appearance and layout of all the pages in a Web site, just by editing one single CSS document!

Multiple styles will cascade into one

Style sheets allow style information to be specified in many ways.

Styles can be specified:

• inside an HTML element


• inside the head section of an HTML page
• in an external CSS file

Tip: 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:

1. Browser default
2. External style sheet
3. Internal style sheet (in the head section)
4. 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 defined inside the <head> tag, or in an external style sheet, or in a browser (a
default value).

If the link to the external style sheet is placed after the internal style sheet in HTML <head>,
the external style sheet will override the internal style sheet!

CSS Syntax

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:

<p class="right">This paragraph will be right-aligned.</p>


<p class="center">This paragraph will be center-aligned.</p>

Note: To apply more than one class per given element, the syntax is:

<p class="center bold">This is a paragraph.</p>

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:

<h1 class="center">This heading will be center-aligned</h1>


<p class="center">This paragraph will also be center-aligned.</p>

Do NOT start a class name with a number! It will not work in Mozilla/Firefox.

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
}

Do NOT start an ID name with a number! It will not work in Mozilla/Firefox.

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
}
CSS How To...

Examples

• Look at Example 1
• Look at Example 2

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")}

Do not leave spaces between the property value and the units! "margin-left:20 px" (instead
of "margin-left:20px") will only work in IE6, but it will not work in Firefox or Opera.

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

The CSS background properties define the background effects of an element.

Examples

Set the background color


This example demonstrates how to set the background color for an element.

Set an image as the background


This example demonstrates how to set an image as the background.

How to repeat a background image


This example demonstrates how to repeat a background image.

How to repeat a background image only vertically


This example demonstrates how to repeat a background image only vertically.

How to repeat a background image only horizontally


This example demonstrates how to repeat a background image only horizontally.

How to display a background image only one time


This example demonstrates how to display a background image only one time

How to place the background image


This example demonstrates how to place the image on the page.

How to position a background image using %


This example demonstrates how to position an image on the page using percent.

How to position a background image using pixels


This example demonstrates how to position an image on the page using pixels.

How to set a fixed background image


This example demonstrates how to set a fixed background image.

All the background properties in one declaration


This example demonstrates how to use the shorthand property for setting all of the background
properties in one declaration.

All CSS Background Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).

Property Description Values CSS


background A shorthand property for setting background-color 1
all background properties in one background-image
declaration background-repeat
background-attachment
background-position
background-attachment Sets whether a background image scroll 1
is fixed or scrolls with the rest of fixed
the page
background-color Sets the background color of an color-rgb 1
element color-hex
color-name
transparent
background-image Sets an image as the background url(URL) 1
none
background-position Sets the starting position of a top left 1
background image top center
top right
center left
center center
center right
bottom left
bottom center
bottom right
x% y%
xpos ypos
background-repeat Sets if/how a background image repeat
will be repeated repeat-x
repeat-y
no-repeat

CSS Text

The CSS text properties define the appearance of text:

text example
This example includes some text formatting properties. The heading uses the text-
align, text-transform, and color properties. The paragraph is indented and aligned, and the
underline is removed from the "Try it yourself" link.

Text Color

The color property is used to set the color of the text. The color can be set by:

• name - specify a color name, like "red"


• RGB - specify an RGB value, like "rgb(255,0,0)"
• Hex - specify a hex value, like "#ff0000"

The default color for a page is defined in the body selector.

Example

body {color:blue}
h1 {color:#00ff00}
h2 {color:rgb(255,0,0)}

For W3C compliant CSS: If you define the color property, you must also define the
background-color property.
Text Alignment

The text-align property is used to set the horizontal alignment of a text.

Text can be centered, or aligned to the left or right, or justified.

When text-align is set to "justify", each line is stretched so that every line has equal width, and
the left and right margins are straight (like in magazines and newspapers).

Example

h1 {text-align:center}
p.date {text-align:right}
p.main {text-align:justify}

Text Decoration

The text-decoration property is used to set or remove decorations from text.

The text-decoration property is mostly used to remove underlines from links for design
purposes:

Example

a {text-decoration:none}

It can also be used to decorate text:

Example

h1 {text-decoration:overline}
h2 {text-decoration:line-through}
h3 {text-decoration:underline}
h4 {text-decoration:blink}

It is not recommended to underline text that is not a link, as this often confuse users.

Text Transformation

The text-transform property is used to specify uppercase and lowercase letters in a text.

It can be used to turn everything into uppercase or lowercase letters, or capitalize the first letter
of each word.

Example
p.uppercase {text-transform:uppercase}
p.lowercase {text-transform:lowercase}
p.capitalize {text-transform:capitalize}

Text Indentation

The text-indentation property is used to specify the indentation of the first line of a text.

Example

p {text-indent:50px}

More Examples

Specify the space between characters


This example demonstrates how to increase or decrease the space between characters.

Specify the space between lines


This example demonstrates how to specify the space between the lines in a paragraph.

Set the text direction of an element


This example demonstrates how to change the text direction of an element.

Increase the white space between words


This example demonstrates how to increase the white space between words in a paragraph.

Disable text wrapping inside an element


This example demonstrates how to disable text wrapping inside an element.

Vertical alignment of an image


This example demonstrates how to set the vertical align of an image in a text.

All CSS Text Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).

Property Description Values CSS


color Sets the color of a text color 1
direction Sets the text direction ltr 2
rtl
line-height Sets the distance between lines normal 1
number
length
%
letter-spacing Increase or decrease the space between characters normal 1
length
text-align Aligns the text in an element left 1
right
center
justify
text-decoration Adds decoration to text none 1
underline
overline
line-through
blink
text-indent Indents the first line of text in an element length 1
%
text-shadow none
color
length
text-transform Controls the letters in an element none 1
capitalize
uppercase
lowercase
unicode-bidi normal 2
embed
bidi-override
vertical-align Sets the vertical alignment of an element baseline 1
sub
super
top
text-top
middle
bottom
text-bottom
length
%
white-space Sets how white space inside an element is handled normal 1
pre
nowrap
word-spacing Increase or decrease the space between words normal 1
length

CSS Font

CSS font properties define the font family, boldness, size, and the style of a text.

Difference Between Serif and Sans-serif Fonts

On computer screens, sans-serif fonts are considered easier to read than serif fonts.
CSS Font Families

In CSS, there is two types of font family names:

• generic family - a group of font families with a similar look (like "Serif" or
"Monospace")
• font family - a specific font family (like "Times New Roman" or "Arial")

Generic family Font family Description


Serif Times New Roman Serif fonts have small lines at the ends on some
characters
Georgia
Sans-serif Arial "Sans" means without - these fonts do not have
the lines at the ends of characters
Verdana
Monospace Courier New All monospace characters has the same width

Luc ida Conso le

Font Family

The font family of a text is set with the font-family property.

The font-family property can hold several font names as a "fallback" system. If the browser
does not support the first font, it tries the next font.

Start with the font you want, and end with a generic family, to let the browser pick a similar font
in the generic family, if no other fonts are available.

Note: If the name of a font family is more than one word, it must be in quotation marks, like
font-family: "Times New Roman".

More than one font family is specified in a comma-separated list:

Example

p{font-family:"Times New Roman",Georgia,Serif}

Font Style

The font-style property is mostly used to specify italic text.

This property has three values:

• normal - The text is shown normally


• italic - The text is shown in italics
• oblique - The text is "leaning" (oblique is very similar to italic, but less supported)

Example
p.normal {font-style:normal}
p.italic {font-style:italic}
p.oblique {font-style:oblique}

Font Size

The font-size property sets the size of the text.

Being able to manage the text size is important in web design. However, you should not use font
size adjustments to make paragraphs look like headings, or headings look like paragraphs.

Always use the proper HTML tags, like <h1> - <h6> for headings and <p> for paragraphs.

The font-size value can be an absolute, or relative size.

Absolute size:

• Sets the text to a specified size


• Does not allow a user to change the text size in all browsers (bad for accessibility
reasons)
• Absolute size is useful when the physical size of the output is known

Relative size:

• Sets the size relative to surrounding elements


• Allows a user to change the text size in browsers

If you do not specify a font size, the default size for normal text, like paragraphs, is 16px
(16px=1em).

Setting Text Size Using Pixels

Setting the text size with pixels, gives you full control over the text size:

Example

h1 {font-size:40px}
h2 {font-size:30px}
p {font-size:14px}

The example above allows Firefox, Chrome, and Safari to resize the text, but not Internet
Explorer.

The text can be resized in all browsers using the zoom tool (however, this resizes the entire
page, not just the text).

Setting Text Size Using Em

To avoid the resizing problem with Internet Explorer, many developers use em instead of pixels.
The em size unit is recommended by the W3C.

1em is equal to the current font size. The default text size in browsers is 16px. So, the default
size of 1em is 16px.

The size can be calculated from pixels to em using this formula: pixels/16=em

Example

h1 {font-size:2.5em} /* 40px/16=2.5em */
h2 {font-size:1.875em} /* 30px/16=1.875em */
p {font-size:0.875em} /* 14px/16=0.875em */

In the example above, the text size in em is the same as the previous example in pixels.
However, with the em size, it is possible to adjust the text size in all browsers.

Unfortunately, there is still a problem with IE. When resizing the text, it becomes larger than it
should when made larger, and smaller than it should when made smaller.

Using a Combination of Percent and Em

The solution that works in all browsers, is to set a default font-size in percent for the body
element:

Example

body {font-size:100%}
h1 {font-size:2.5em}
h2 {font-size:1.875em}
p {font-size:0.875em}

Our code now works great! It shows the same text size in all browsers, and allows all browsers
to zoom or resize the text!

More Examples

Set the boldness of the font


This example demonstrates how to set the boldness of a font.

Set the variant of the font


This example demonstrates how to set the variant of a font.

All the font properties in one declaration


This example demonstrates how to use the shorthand property for setting all of the font
properties in one declaration.

All CSS Font Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).
Property Description Values CSS
font Sets all the font properties in one font-style 1
declaration font-variant
font-weight
font-size/line-height
font-family
caption
icon
menu
message-box
small-caption
status-bar
inherit
font-family Specifies the font family for text family-name 1
generic-family
inherit
font-size Specifies the font size of text xx-small 1
x-small
small
medium
large
x-large
xx-large
smaller
larger
length
%
inherit
font-style Specifies the font style for text normal 1
italic
oblique
inherit
font-variant Specifies whether or not a text should be normal 1
displayed in a small-caps font small-caps
inherit
font-weight Specifies the weight of a font normal
bold
bolder
lighter
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
inherit

CSS Box Model

Box Model in CSS

All HTML elements can be considered as boxes. In CSS, the term "box model" is used when
talking about design and layout.

In order to set the width and height of an element correctly in all browsers, you need to know
how the box model works.
The box model illustrates how the CSS properties: margin, border, and padding, affects the
width and height of an element.

The Box Model

The image below illustrates the box model:

Explanation of the different parts:

• Margin - Clears an area around the border. The margin does not have a background
color, and it is completely transparent
• Border - A border that lies around the padding and content. The border is affected by
the background color of the box
• Padding - Clears an area around the content. The padding is affected by the
background color of the box
• Content - The content of the box, where text and images appear

Width and Height of an Element

Important: When you specify the width and height properties of an element with CSS, you are
just setting the width and height of the content area. To know the full size of the element, you
must also add the padding, border and margin.

The total width of the element in the example below is 300px:

width:250px;
padding:10px;
border:5px solid gray;
margin:10px;

Let's do the math:


250px (width)
+ 20px (left and right padding)
+ 10px (left and right border)
+ 20px (left and right margin)
= 300px
Imagine that you only had 250px of space. Let's make an element with a total width of 250px:

Example

width:220px;
padding:10px;
border:5px solid gray;
margin:0px;

The total width of an element should always be calculated like this:

Total element width = width + left padding + right padding + left border + right border + left
margin + right margin

The total height of an element should always be calculated like this:

Total element height = height + top padding + bottom padding + top border + bottom border +
top margin + bottom margin

Browsers Compatibility Issue

If you tested the previous example in Internet Explorer, you saw that the total width was not
exactly 250px.

IE includes padding and border in the width, when the width property is set, unless a
DOCTYPE is declared.

To fix this problem, just add a DOCTYPE to the code:

Example

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"


"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
div.ex
{
width:220px;
padding:10px;
border:5px solid gray;
margin:0px;
}
</style>
</head>

CSS Border

The CSS border properties define the borders around an element:

CSS Border Properties


The CSS border properties allow you to specify the style and color of an element's border.

Border Style

The border-style property specifies what kind of border to display.

None of the other border properties will have any effect unless border-style is set.

border-style Values

none: Defines no border

dotted: Defines a dotted border

dashed: Defines a dashed border

solid: Defines a solid border

double: Defines two borders. The width of the two borders are the same as the border-width
value

groove: Defines a 3D grooved border. The effect depends on the border-color value

ridge: Defines a 3D ridged border. The effect depends on the border-color value

inset: Defines a 3D inset border. The effect depends on the border-color value

outset: Defines a 3D outset border. The effect depends on the border-color value

Try it yourself: Set the style of the border

Border Width

The border-width property is used to set the width of the border.

The width is set in pixels, or by using one of the three pre-defined values: thin, medium, or
thick.

Note: The "border-width" property does not work if it is used alone. Use the "border-style"
property to set the borders first.

Example
p.one
{
border-style:solid;
border-width:5px;
}
p.two
{
border-style:solid;
border-width:medium;
}

Border Color

The border-color property is used to set the color of the border. The color can be set by:

• name - specify a color name, like "red"


• RGB - specify a RGB value, like "rgb(255,0,0)"
• Hex - specify a hex value, like "#ff0000"

You can also set the border color to "transparent".

Note: The "border-color" property does not work if it is used alone. Use the "border-style"
property to set the borders first.

Example

p.one
{
border-style:solid;
border-color:red;
}
p.two
{
border-style:solid;
border-color:#98bf21;
}

Border - Individual sides

In CSS it is possible to specify different borders for different sides:

Example

p
{
border-top-style:dotted;
border-right-style:solid;
border-bottom-style:dotted;
border-left-style:solid;
}
The example above can also be set with a single property:

Example

border-style:dotted solid;

The border-style property can have from one to four values.

• border-style:dotted solid double dashed;


o top border is dotted
o right border is solid
o bottom border is double
o left border is dashed

• border-style:dotted solid double;


o top border is dotted
o right and left borders are solid
o bottom border is double

• border-style:dotted solid;
o top and bottom borders are dotted
o right and left borders are solid

• border-style:dotted;
o all four borders are dotted

The border-style property is used in the example above. However, it also works with border-
width and border-color.

Border - Shorthand property

As you can see from the examples above, there are many properties to consider when dealing
with borders.

To shorten the code, it is also possible to specify all the border properties in one property. This is
called a shorthand property.

The shorthand property for the border properties is "border":

Example

border:5px solid red;

When using the border property, the order of the values are:
• border-width
• border-style
• border-color

It does not matter if one of the values above are missing (although, border-style is required), as
long as the rest are in the specified order.

More Examples

All the top border properties in one declaration


This example demonstrates a shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the top
border in one declaration.

Set the style of the bottom border


This example demonstrates how to set the style of the bottom border.

Set the width of the left border


This example demonstrates how to set the width of the left border.

Set the color of the four borders


This example demonstrates how to set the color of the four borders. It can have from one to
four colors.

Set the color of the right border


This example demonstrates how to set the color of the right border.

All CSS Border Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).

Property Description Values CSS


border Sets all the border properties in one border-width 1
declaration border-style
border-color
border-bottom Sets all the bottom border properties in one border-bottom-width 1
declaration border-bottom-style
border-bottom-color
border-bottom-color Sets the color of the bottom border border-color 2
border-bottom-style Sets the style of the bottom border border-style 2
border-bottom-width Sets the width of the bottom border border-width 1
border-color Sets the color of the four borders color_name 1
hex_number
rgb_number
transparent
inherit
border-left Sets all the left border properties in one border-left-width 1
declaration border-left-style
border-left-color
border-left-color Sets the color of the left border border-color 2
border-left-style Sets the style of the left border border-style 2
border-left-width Sets the width of the left border border-width 1
border-right Sets all the right border properties in one border-right-width 1
declaration border-right-style
border-right-color
border-right-color Sets the color of the right border border-color 2
border-right-style Sets the style of the right border border-style 2
border-right-width Sets the width of the right border border-width 1
border-style Sets the style of the four borders none 1
hidden
dotted
dashed
solid
double
groove
ridge
inset
outset
inherit
border-top Sets all the top border properties in one border-top-width 1
declaration border-top-style
border-top-color
border-top-color Sets the color of the top border border-color 2
border-top-style Sets the style of the top border border-style 2
border-top-width Sets the width of the top border border-width 1
border-width Sets the width of the four borders thin
medium
thick
length
inherit

CSS Outlines

An outline is a line that is drawn around elements, outside the border edge, to make
the element "stand out".

Examples

Draw a line around an element (outline) (does not work in IE)


This example demonstrates how to draw a line around an element, outside the border edge.

Set the style of an outline (does not work in IE)


This example demonstrates how to set the style of an outline.

Set the color of an outline (does not work in IE)


This example demonstrates how to set the color of an outline.

Set the width of an outline (does not work in IE)


This example demonstrates how to set the width of an outline.

CSS Outline Properties

The outline properties specifies the style, color, and width of an outline.

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).
Property Description Values CSS
outline A shorthand property for setting all the outline outline-color 2
properties outline-style
outline-width
outline-color Sets the color of the outline around an element color 2
invert
outline-style Sets the style of the outline around an element none 2
dotted
dashed
solid
double
groove
ridge
inset
outset
outline-width Sets the width of the outline around an element thin
medium
thick
length

CSS Margin

The CSS margin properties define the space around elements.

Margin

The margin clears an area around an element (outside the border). The margin does not have a
background color, and is completely transparent.

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 margins at once.

Possible Values
Value Description
auto The browser sets the margin.
The result of this is dependant of the browser
length Defines a fixed margin (in pixels, pt, em, etc.)
% Defines a margin in % of the containing element

It is possible to use negative values, to overlap content.

Margin - Individual sides

In CSS, it is possible to specify different margins for different sides:

Example
margin-top:100px;
margin-bottom:100px;
margin-right:50px;
margin-left:50px;

Margin - Shorthand property

To shorten the code, it is possible to specify all the margin properties in one property. This is
called a shorthand property.

The shorthand property for all the margin properties is "margin":

Example

margin:100px 50px;

The margin property can have from one to four values.

• margin:25px 50px 75px 100px;


o top margin is 25px
o right margin is 50px
o bottom margin is 75px
o left margin is 100px

• margin:25px 50px 75px;


o top margin is 25px
o right and left margins are 50px
o bottom margin is 75px

• margin:25px 50px;
o top and bottom margins are 25px
o right and left margins are 50px

• margin:25px;
o all four margins are 25px

More Examples

Set the top margin of a text using a cm value


This example demonstrates how to set the top margin of a text using a cm value.

Set the bottom margin of a text using a percent value


This example demonstrates how to set the bottom margin of a text using a percent value.
All CSS Margin Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).

Property Description Values CSS


margin A shorthand property for setting the margin margin-top 1
properties in one declaration margin-right
margin-bottom
margin-left
margin-bottom Sets the bottom margin of an element auto 1
length
%
margin-left Sets the left margin of an element auto 1
length
%
margin-right Sets the right margin of an element auto 1
length
%
margin-top Sets the top margin of an element auto
length
%

CSS Padding

The CSS padding properties define the space between the element border and the
element content.

Padding

The padding clears an area around the content (inside the border) of an element. The padding is
affected by the background color of the element.

The top, right, bottom, and left padding can be changed independently using separate
properties. A shorthand padding property can also be used, to change all paddings at once.

Possible Values
Value Description
length Defines a fixed padding (in pixels, pt, em, etc.)
% Defines a padding in % of the containing element

Padding - Individual sides

In CSS, it is possible to specify different padding for different sides:

Example
padding-top:25px;
padding-bottom:25px;
padding-right:50px;
padding-left:50px;

Padding - Shorthand property

To shorten the code, it is possible to specify all the padding properties in one property. This is
called a shorthand property.

The shorthand property for all the padding properties is "padding":

Example

padding:25px 50px;

The margin property can have from one to four values.

• padding:25px 50px 75px 100px;


o top padding is 25px
o right padding is 50px
o bottom padding is 75px
o left padding is 100px

• padding:25px 50px 75px;


o top padding is 25px
o right and left paddings are 50px
o bottom padding is 75px

• padding:25px 50px;
o top and bottom paddings are 25px
o right and left paddings are 50px

• padding:25px;
o all four paddings are 25px

More Examples

All the padding properties in one declaration


This example demonstrates a shorthand property for setting all of the padding properties in one
declaration, can have from one to four values.

Set the top padding using a cm value


This example demonstrates how to set the top padding of a table cell using a cm value.
Set the bottom padding using a percent value
This example demonstrates how to set the bottom padding of a table cell using a percent value.

All CSS Padding Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).

Property Description Values CSS


padding A shorthand property for setting all the padding padding-top 1
properties in one declaration padding-right
padding-bottom
padding-left
padding-bottom Sets the bottom padding of an element length 1
%
padding-left Sets the left padding of an element length 1
%
padding-right Sets the right padding of an element length 1
%
padding-top Sets the top padding of an element length 1
%

CSS List

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.

List

In HTML, there are two types of lists:

• unordered list - the list items are marked with bullets (typically circles or squares)
• ordered list - the list items are marked with numbers or letters

With CSS, lists can be styled further, and images can be used as list item markers.

Different List Item Markers

It is possible to specify the type of list item marker with the list-style-type property:

Example

ul.circle {list-style-type:circle}
ul.square {list-style-type:square}

ol.upper-roman {list-style-type:upper-roman}
ol.lower-alpha {list-style-type:lower-alpha}

Some of the values are for unordered lists, and some for ordered lists.
Unordered List - Possible Values
Value Description
none No marker
disc Default. The marker is a filled circle
circle The marker is a circle
square The marker is a square

Ordered List - Possible Values


Value Description
none No marker
circle The marker is a circle
disc The marker is a filled circle. This is default
square The marker is a square
armenian The marker is traditional Armenian numbering
decimal The marker is a number
decimal-leading-zero The marker is a number padded by initial zeros (01, 02, 03, etc.)
georgian The marker is traditional Georgian numbering (an, ban, gan, etc.)
lower-alpha The marker is lower-alpha (a, b, c, d, e, etc.)
lower-greek The marker is lower-greek (alpha, beta, gamma, etc.)
lower-latin The marker is lower-latin (a, b, c, d, e, etc.)
lower-roman The marker is lower-roman (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.)
upper-alpha The marker is upper-alpha (A, B, C, D, E, etc.)
upper-latin The marker is upper-latin (A, B, C, D, E, etc.)
upper-roman The marker is upper-roman (I, II, III, IV, V, etc.)

Internet Explorer does not support all property values for ordered lists.

Positioning the List

The list-style-position property specifies the indentation of a list.

"outside" is the default value. The "inside" value further indents the list:

Example

ul.inside {list-style-position:inside}
ul.outside {list-style-position:outside}

Using an Image as List Item Marker

It is also possible to use an image as a list item marker:

Example
ul
{
list-style-image:url('arrow.gif');
}

The example above will not show the exact same result in all browsers. IE and Opera will display
the images slightly higher than in Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.

The example above will be fine for most occasions. However, there is a way to position the
image more precisely.

For the same result in all browsers, you will have to use a background image on each list item,
like this:

Example

ul
{
list-style-type:none;
padding:0px;
margin:0px;
}
li
{
background-image:url(arrow.gif);
background-repeat:no-repeat;
background-position:0px 5px;
padding-left:14px;
}

Example explained:

• For ul:
o Set the list-style-type to none to remove the list item marker
o Both padding and margin must be set to 0px for cross-browser compatibility
• For li:
o Set the URL of the image, and show it only once (no-repeat)
o Use the background-position property to place the image where you want it
(left 0px and down 5px)
o Use the padding-left property to position the text in the list

List - Shorthand property

It is possible to specify all the list properties in a single property. This is called a shorthand
property.

The shorthand property for list is "list-style":

Example

list-style:square inside;
When using the shorthand property, the order of the values are:

• list-style-type
• list-style-position
• list-style-image

It does not matter if one of the values above are missing, as long as the rest are in the specified
order.

More Examples

The different list-item markers in lists


This example demonstrates the different list-item markers in CSS.

All CSS List Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).

Property Description Values CSS


list-style Sets all the properties for a list in one list-style-type 1
declaration list-style-position
list-style-image
inherit
list-style-image Specifies an image as the list-item marker URL 1
none
inherit
list-style-position Specifies where to place the list-item marker inside 1
outside
inherit
list-style-type Specifies the type of list-item marker none
disc
circle
square
decimal
decimal-leading-zero
armenian
georgian
lower-alpha
upper-alpha
lower-greek
lower-latin
upper-latin
lower-roman
upper-roman
inherit

CSS Table

The CSS table properties allow you to set the layout of a table.

Examples
Set the layout of a table
This example demonstrates how to set the layout of a table.

Show empty cells in a table


This example demonstrates whether or not to show empty cells in a table.

Collapse a table border


This example demonstrates whether the table borders are collapsed into a single border or
detached as in standard HTML.

Set the space between table borders


This example demonstrates how to set the distance between cell borders.

Set the position of the table caption


This example demonstrates how to position the table caption.

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 collapse 5 1 7 2
borders are collapsed into a separate
single border or detached as
in standard HTML
border-spacing Sets the distance that length length 5M 1 6 2
separates cell borders (only
for the "separated borders"
model)
caption-side Sets the position of the table top 5M 1 6 2
caption bottom
left
right
empty-cells Sets whether or not to show show 5M 1 6 2
empty cells in a table (only hide
for the "separated borders"
model)
table-layout Sets the algorithm used to auto 5 1 6 2
display the table cells, rows, fixed
and columns

CSS Dimension

The CSS dimension properties allow you to control the height and width of an
element.

Examples
Set the height of elements
This example demonstrates how to set the height of different elements.

Set the height of an image using percent


This example demonstrates how to set the height of an element using a percent value.

Set the width of an element using a pixel value


This example demonstrates how to set the width of an element using a pixel value.

Set the maximum height of an element


This example demonstrates how to set the maximum height of an element.

Set the maximum width of an element using percent


This example demonstrates how to set the maximum width of an element using a percent value.

Set the minimum height of an element


This example demonstrates how to set the minimum height of an element.

Set the minimum width of an element using a pixel value


This example demonstrates how to set the minimum width of an element using a pixel value.

All CSS Dimension Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).

Property Description Values CSS


height Sets the height of an element auto 1
length
%
inherit
max-height Sets the maximum height of an element none 2
length
%
inherit
max-width Sets the maximum width of an element none 2
length
%
inherit
min-height Sets the minimum height of an element length 2
%
inherit
min-width Sets the minimum width of an element length 2
%
inherit
width Sets the width of an element auto
length
%
inherit

CSS Classification

The CSS classification properties allow you to control how to display an element, set
where an element will appear in another element, position an element absolutely or
relative to its normal position, and how to control the visibility of an element.
Examples

How to display an element as an inline element.


This example demonstrates how to display an element as an inline element.

How to display an element as a block element


This example demonstrates how to display an element as a block element.

A simple use of the float property


Let an image float to the right in a paragraph.

An image with border and margins that floats to the right in a paragraph
Let an image float to the right in a paragraph. Add border and margins to the image.

An image with a caption that floats to the right


Let an image with a caption float to the right.

Let the first letter of a paragraph float to the left


Let the first letter of a paragraph float to the left and style the letter.

Creating a horizontal menu


Use float with a list of hyperlinks to create a horizontal menu.

Creating a homepage without tables


Use float to create a homepage with a header, footer, left content and main content.

Position:relative
This example demonstrates how to position an element relative to its normal position.

Position:absolute
This example demonstrates how to position an element using an absolute value.

How to make an element invisible


This example demonstrates how to make an element invisible. Do you want the element to
show or not?

How to make a table element collapse


This example demonstrates how to make a table element collapse.

Change the cursor


This example demonstrates how to change the cursor.

Clear the sides of an element


This example demonstrates how clear the sides of other floating elements.

All CSS Classification Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).

Property Description Values CSS


clear Sets the sides of an element where other floating left 1
elements are not allowed right
both
none
cursor Specifies the type of cursor to be displayed url 2
auto
crosshair
default
pointer
move
e-resize
ne-resize
nw-resize
n-resize
se-resize
sw-resize
s-resize
w-resize
text
wait
help
display Sets how/if an element is displayed none 1
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
float Sets where an image or a text will appear in left 1
another element right
none
position Places an element in a static, relative, absolute or static 2
fixed position relative
absolute
fixed
visibility Sets if an element should be visible or invisible visible 2
hidden
collapse

CSS Positioning

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.

Examples

Position:relative
This example demonstrates how to position an element relative to its normal position.

Position:absolute
This example demonstrates how to position an element using an absolute value.
Position:fixed
This example demonstrates how to position an element with relative to the browser window.

Set the shape of an element


This example demonstrates how to set the shape of an element. The element is clipped into this
shape, and displayed.

How to handle overflow in an element


This example demonstrates how to set the overflow property when an element's content is too
big to fit in a specified area.

Z-index
Z-index can be used to place an element "behind" another element.

Z-index
The elements in the example above have now changed their Z-index.

Set the top edge of an image using a pixel value


This example demonstrates how to set the top edge of an element using a pixel value.

Set the left edge of an image using a percent value


This example demonstrates how to set the left edge of an element using a percent value.

All CSS Positioning Properties

The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1
or CSS2).

Property Description Values CSS


bottom Sets the bottom margin edge for a auto 2
positioned box length
%
inherit
clip Clips an absolutely positioned element shape 2
auto
inherit
left Sets the left margin edge for a positioned auto 2
box length
%
inherit
overflow Specifies what happens if content auto 2
overflows an element's box hidden
scroll
visible
inherit
position Specifies the type of positioning for an absolute 2
element fixed
relative
static
inherit
right Sets the right margin edge for a auto 2
positioned box length
%
inherit
top Sets the top margin edge for a positioned auto 2
box length
%
inherit
z-index Sets the stack order of an element number 2
auto
inherit

CSS Pseudo-classes

CSS pseudo-classes are used to add special effects to some selectors.

Examples

Hyperlink
This example demonstrates how to add different colors to a hyperlink in a document.

Hyperlink 2
This example demonstrates how to add other styles to hyperlinks.

Hyperlink: use of :focus (does not work in IE)


This example demonstrates how to use the :focus pseudo-class on a hyperlink.

:first-child - change first child <p>


This example sets any <p> element that is the first child of any element to blue.

:first-child - change first child <i> in all <p> elements


This example sets the first <i> element in all <p> elements to blue.

:first-child - change all <i> elements in first child <p>


This example sets any <i> elements in first child <p> elements to blue.

:lang (does not work in IE)


This example demonstrates the use of the :lang pseudo-class.

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 - 1.5 8 2
has focus
:hover Adds special style to an element when you mouse 4 1 7 1
over it
: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 7 1 7 2
of some other element
:lang Allows the author to specify a language to use in a - 1 8 2
specified element

CSS Pseudo-elements

CSS pseudo-elements are used to add special effects to some selectors.

Examples

Make the first letter special


This example demonstrates how to add a special effect to the first letter of a text.

Make the first line special


This example demonstrates how to add a special effect to the first line of a text.

Make the first letter and first line special


This example demonstrates how to add a special effect to the first letter and the first line of a
text.

Use :before to insert some content before the content of an element (Does not work in IE)
This example demonstrates how to use the :before pseudo-element to insert an image before
an element.

Use :after to insert some content after the content of an element (Does not work in IE)
This example demonstrates how to use the :after pseudo-element to insert an image after an
element.

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 1.5 8 2
element
:after Inserts some content after the content of an element 1.5 8 2

CSS Image Gallery

CSS can be used to create an image gallery.

Image Gallery

The following image gallery is created with CSS:

Image gallery

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="klematis_big.htm">
<img src="klematis_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="klematis2_big.htm">
<img src="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="klematis3_big.htm">
<img src="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="klematis4_big.htm">
<img src="klematis4_small.jpg" alt="Klematis" width="110" height="90"
/>
</a>
<div class="desc">Add a description of the image here</div>
</div>

</body>
</html>

CSS Image Opacity / Transparency

Creating transparent images with CSS is easy.


Examples

Creating transparent images - mouseover effect

Creating a transparent box with text on a background image

Note: This is not yet a CSS standard. However, it works in all modern browsers, and is a part of
the W3C CSS 3 recommendation.

Example 1 - Creating a Transparent Image

First we will show you how to create a transparent image with CSS.

Regular image:

The same image with transparency:

Look at the following source code:

<img src="klematis.jpg" width="150" height="113" alt="klematis"


style="opacity:0.4;filter:alpha(opacity=40)" />

Firefox uses the property opacity:x for transparency, while IE uses filter:alpha(opacity=x).

Tip: The CSS3 syntax for transparency is opacity:x.

In Firefox (opacity:x) x can be a value from 0.0 - 1.0. A lower value makes the element more
transparent.

In IE (filter:alpha(opacity=x)) x can be a value from 0 - 100. A lower value makes the element
more transparent.

Example 2 - Image Transparency - Mouseover Effect

Mouse over the images:


The source code looks like this:

<img src="klematis.jpg" style="opacity:0.4;filter:alpha(opacity=40)"


onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"
onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.4;this.filters.alpha.opacity=40" />

<img src="klematis2.jpg" style="opacity:0.4;filter:alpha(opacity=40)"


onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"
onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.4;this.filters.alpha.opacity=40" />

We see that the first line of the source code is similar to the source code in Example 1. In
addition, we have added an onmouseover attribute and an onmouseout attribute. The
onmouseover attribute defines what will happen when the mouse pointer moves over the image.
In this case we want the image to NOT be transparent when we move the mouse pointer over it.

The syntax for this in Firefox is: this.style.opacity=1 and the syntax in IE is:
this.filters.alpha.opacity=100.

When the mouse pointer moves away from the image, we want the image to be transparent
again. This is done in the onmouseout attribute.

Example 3 - Text in Transparent Box

This is some text that is placed in the transparent box. This is some text
that is placed in the transparent box. This is some text that is placed in
the transparent box. This is some text that is placed in the transparent
box. This is some text that is placed in the transparent box.

The source code looks like this:

<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
div.background
{
width:500px;
height:250px;
background:url(klematis.jpg) repeat;
border:2px solid black;
}
div.transbox
{
width:400px;
height:180px;
margin:30px 50px;
background-color:#ffffff;
border:1px solid black;
/* for IE */
filter:alpha(opacity=60);
/* CSS3 standard */
opacity:0.6;
}
div.transbox p
{
margin:30px 40px;
font-weight:bold;
color:#000000;
}
</style>
</head>

<body>

<div class="background">
<div class="transbox">
<p>This is some text that is placed in the transparent box.
This is some text that is placed in the transparent box.
This is some text that is placed in the transparent box.
This is some text that is placed in the transparent box.
This is some text that is placed in the transparent box.
</p>
</div>
</div>

</body>
</html>

First, we create a div element (class="background") with a fixed height and width, a
background image, and a border. Then we create a smaller div (class="transbox") inside the
first div element. This div also have a fixed width, a background image, and a border. In
addition we make this div transparent.

Inside the transparent div, we add some text inside a p element.

CSS Media Types

Media Types allow you to specify how documents will be presented in different media.
The document can be displayed differently on the screen, on the paper, with an aural
browser, etc.

Media Types

Some CSS properties are only designed for a certain media. For example the "voice-family"
property is designed for aural user agents. Some other properties can be used for different
media types. For example, the "font-size" property can be used for both screen and print media,
but perhaps with different values. A document usually needs a larger font-size on a screen than
on paper, and sans-serif fonts are easier to read on the screen, while serif fonts are easier to
read on paper.

The @media Rule

The @media rule allows different style rules for different media in the same style sheet.

The style in the example below tells the browser to display a 14 pixels Verdana font on the
screen. But if the page is printed, it will be in a 10 pixels Times font. Notice that the font-weight
is set to bold, both on screen and on paper:
<html>
<head>
<style>
@media screen
{
p.test {font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:14px}
}
@media print
{
p.test {font-family:times,serif;font-size:10px}
}
@media screen,print
{
p.test {font-weight:bold}
}
</style>
</head>

<body>
....
</body>
</html>

See it yourself ! If you are using Mozilla/Firefox or IE 5+ and print this page, you will see that
the paragraph under "Media Types" will be displayed in another font, and have a smaller font
size than the rest of the text.

Different Media Types

Note: The media type names are not case-sensitive.

Media Type Description


all Used for all media type devices
aural Used for speech and sound synthesizers
braille Used for braille tactile feedback devices
embossed Used for paged braille printers
handheld Used for small or handheld devices
print Used for printers
projection Used for projected presentations, like slides
screen Used for computer screens
tty Used for media using a fixed-pitch character grid, like teletypes and terminals
tv Used for television-type devices

CSS Don't

Here are some technologies you should try to avoid when using CSS.

Internet Explorer Behaviors

What is it? Internet Explorer 5 introduced behaviors. Behaviors are a way to add behaviors to
HTML elements with the use of CSS styles.
Why avoid it? The behavior attribute is only supported by Internet Explorer.

What to use instead? Use JavaScript and the HTML DOM instead.

Example 1 - Mouseover Highlight

The following HTML file has a <style> element that defines a behavior for the <h1> element:

<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
h1 { behavior:url(behave.htc) }
</style>
</head>

<body>
<h1>Mouse over me!!!</h1>
</body>
</html>

The XML document "behave.htc" is shown below:

Example (IE 5+ Only)

The behavior file contains a JavaScript and event handlers for the elements.

<attach for="element" event="onmouseover" handler="hig_lite" />


<attach for="element" event="onmouseout" handler="low_lite" />

<script type="text/javascript">
function hig_lite()
{
element.style.color='red';
}

function low_lite()
{
element.style.color='blue';
}
</script>

Example 2 - Typewriter Simulation

The following HTML file has a <style> element that defines a behavior for elements with an id of
"typing":

<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
#typing
{
behavior:url(behave_typing.htc);
font-family:"courier new";
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<span id="typing" speed="100">IE5 introduced DHTML behaviors.
Behaviors are a way to add DHTML functionality to HTML elements
with the ease of CSS.<br /><br />How do behaviors work?<br />
By using XML we can link behaviors to any element in a web page
and manipulate that element.</p>
</span>
</body>
</html>

The XML document "typing.htc" is shown below:

Example (IE 5+ Only)

<attach for="window" event="onload" handler="beginTyping" />


<method name="type" />

<script type="text/javascript">
var i,text1,text2,textLength,t;

function beginTyping()
{
i=0;
text1=element.innerText;
textLength=text1.length;
element.innerText="";
text2="";
t=window.setInterval(element.id+".type()",speed);
}

function type()
{
text2=text2+text1.substring(i,i+1);
element.innerText=text2;
i=i+1;
if (i==textLength)
{
clearInterval(t);
}
}
</script>

You Have Learned CSS, Now What?

CSS Summary

This tutorial has taught you how to create style sheets to control the style and layout of multiple
web sites at once.

You have learned how to use CSS to add backgrounds, format text, add and format borders, and
specify padding and margins of elements.

You have also learned how to position an element, control the visibility and size of an element,
set the shape of an element, place an element behind another, and to add special effects to
some selectors, like links.
For more information on CSS, please take a look at our CSS examples and our CSS reference.

Now You Know CSS, What's Next?

The next step is to learn XHTML and JavaScript.

XHTML

XHTML reformulates HTML 4.01 in XML.

If you want to learn more about XHTML, please visit our XHTML tutorial.

JavaScript

JavaScript can make your web site more dynamic.

A static web site is nice when you just want to show flat content, but a dynamic web site can
react to events and allow user interaction.

JavaScript is the most popular scripting language on the internet and it works with all major
browsers.

If you want to learn more about JavaScript, please visit our JavaScript tutorial.

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