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> |
An internal style sheet should be used when a single document has a unique style. You define internal styles in the head section with the <style> tag.
<head>
<style type="text/css">
body {background-color: red}
p {margin-left: 20px}
</style>
</head>
|
An inline style should be used when a unique 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.
<p style="color: red; margin-left: 20px"> This is a red paragraph that is indented 20px. </p> |
This is a red paragraph that is indented 20px.
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:
So, an inline style (inside an HTML element) has the highest priority, which means that it will override a style declared inside the <head> tag, in an external style sheet, or in a browser (a default value).
The CSS background properties allow you to control the background color of an element, set an image as the background, repeat a background image vertically or horizontally, and position an image on a page.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| background | A shorthand property for setting all background properties in one declaration | background-color background-image background-repeat background-attachment background-position |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| background-attachment | Sets whether a background image is fixed or scrolls with the rest of the page | scroll fixed |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| background-color | Sets the background color of an element | color-rgb color-hex color-name transparent |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| background-image | Sets an image as the background | url(URL) none |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| background-position | Sets the starting position of a background image | top left top center top right center left center center center right bottom left bottom center bottom right x% y% xpos ypos |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| background-repeat | Sets if/how a background image will be repeated | repeat repeat-x repeat-y no-repeat |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
The CSS text properties allow you to control the appearance of text. It is possible to change the color of a text, increase or decrease the space between characters in a text, align a text, decorate a text, indent the first line in a text, and more.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| color | Sets the color of a text | color | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| direction | Sets the text direction | ltr rtl |
6 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| line-height | Sets the distance between lines | normal number length % |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| letter-spacing | Increase or decrease the space between characters | normal length |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| text-align | Aligns the text in an element | left right center justify |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| text-decoration | Adds decoration to text | none underline overline line-through blink |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| text-indent | Indents the first line of text in an element | length % |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| text-shadow | none color length |
|||||
| text-transform | Controls the letters in an element | none capitalize uppercase lowercase |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| unicode-bidi | normal embed bidi-override |
5 | 2 | |||
| white-space | Sets how white space inside an element is handled | normal pre nowrap |
5 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| word-spacing | Increase or decrease the space between words | normal length |
6 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
The CSS font properties allow you to change the font family, boldness, size, and the style of a text.
Note: In CSS1 fonts are identified by a font name. If a browser does not support the specified font, it will use a default font.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| font |
A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for a font in one declaration | font-style font-variant font-weight font-size/line-height font-family caption icon menu message-box small-caption status-bar |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| font-family |
A prioritized list of font family names and/or generic family names for an element | family-name generic-family |
3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| font-size |
Sets the size of a font | xx-small x-small small medium large x-large xx-large smaller larger length % |
3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| font-size-adjust | Specifies an aspect value for an element that will preserve the x-height of the first-choice font | none number |
- | - | - | 2 |
| font-stretch | Condenses or expands the current font-family | normal wider narrower ultra-condensed extra-condensed condensed semi-condensed semi-expanded expanded extra-expanded ultra-expanded |
- | - | - | 2 |
| font-style |
Sets the style of the font | normal italic oblique |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| font-variant |
Displays text in a small-caps font or a normal font | normal small-caps |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| font-weight |
Sets the weight of a font | normal bold bolder lighter 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
The CSS border properties allow you to specify the style and color of an element's border. In HTML we use tables to create borders around a text, but with the CSS border properties we can create borders with nice effects, and it can be applied to any element.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| border | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the four borders in one declaration | border-width border-style border-color |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-bottom | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the bottom border in one declaration | border-bottom-width border-style border-color |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-bottom-color | Sets the color of the bottom border | border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-bottom-style | Sets the style of the bottom border | border-style | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-bottom-width | Sets the width of the bottom border | thin medium thick length |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-color | Sets the color of the four borders, can have from one to four colors | color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-left | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the left border in one declaration | border-left-width border-style border-color |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-left-color | Sets the color of the left border | border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-left-style | Sets the style of the left border | border-style | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-left-width | Sets the width of the left border | thin medium thick length |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-right | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the right border in one declaration | border-right-width border-style border-color |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-right-color | Sets the color of the right border | border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-right-style | Sets the style of the right border | border-style | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-right-width | Sets the width of the right border | thin medium thick length |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-style | Sets the style of the four borders, can have from one to four styles | none hidden dotted dashed solid double groove ridge inset outset |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-top | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for the top border in one declaration | border-top-width border-style border-color |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| border-top-color | Sets the color of the top border | border-color | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-top-style | Sets the style of the top border | border-style | 4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| border-top-width | Sets the width of the top border | thin medium thick length |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| border-width | A shorthand property for setting the width of the four borders in one declaration, can have from one to four values | thin medium thick length |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
An outline is a line that is drawn around elements, outside the border edge, to make the element "stand out".
The CSS outline properties sets the outlines around elements. You can specify the style, color, and width of the outline.
Note: Outlines do not take up space, and they do not have to be rectangular.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outline | A shorthand property for setting all the outline properties in one declaration | outline-color outline-style outline-width |
- | 1.5 | - | 2 |
| outline-color | Sets the color of the outline around an element | color invert |
- | 1.5 | - | 2 |
| outline-style | Sets the style of the outline around an element | none dotted dashed solid double groove ridge inset outset |
- | 1.5 | - | 2 |
| outline-width | Sets the width of the outline around an element | thin medium thick length |
- | 1.5 | - | 2 |
The CSS margin properties define the space around elements. It is possible to use negative values to overlap content. The top, right, bottom, and left margin can be changed independently using separate properties. A shorthand margin property can also be used to change all of the margins at once.
Note: Netscape and IE give the body tag a default margin of 8px. Opera does not! Instead, Opera applies a default padding of 8px, so if one wants to adjust the margin for an entire page and have it display correctly in Opera, the body padding must be set as well!
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| margin | A shorthand property for setting the margin properties in one declaration | margin-top margin-right margin-bottom margin-left |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Sets the bottom margin of an element | auto length % |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| Sets the left margin of an element | auto length % |
3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| Sets the right margin of an element | auto length % |
3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| margin-top | Sets the top margin of an element | auto length % |
3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
The CSS padding properties define the space between the element border and the element content. Negative values are not allowed. The top, right, bottom, and left padding can be changed independently using separate properties. A shorthand padding property is also created to control multiple sides at once.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| padding | A shorthand property for setting all of the padding properties in one declaration | padding-top padding-right padding-bottom padding-left |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Sets the bottom padding of an element | length % |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| Sets the left padding of an element | length % |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| Sets the right padding of an element | length % |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| padding-top | Sets the top padding of an element | length % |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
The CSS list properties allow you to place the list-item marker, change between different list-item markers, or set an image as the list-item marker.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list-style | A shorthand property for setting all of the properties for a list in one declaration | list-style-type list-style-position list-style-image |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| list-style-image | Sets an image as the list-item marker | none url |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| list-style-position | Sets where the list-item marker is placed in the list | inside outside |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| list-style-type | Sets the type of the list-item marker | none disc circle square decimal decimal-leading-zero lower-roman upper-roman lower-alpha upper-alpha lower-greek lower-latin upper-latin hebrew armenian georgian cjk-ideographic hiragana katakana hiragana-iroha katakana-iroha |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| marker-offset | auto length |
1 | 7 | 2 |
The CSS table properties allow you to set the layout of a table.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, M: Mac IE only, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| border-collapse | Sets whether the table borders are collapsed into a single border or detached as in standard HTML | collapse separate |
5 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| border-spacing | Sets the distance that separates cell borders (only for the "separated borders" model) | length length | 5M | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| caption-side | Sets the position of the table caption | top bottom left right |
5M | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| empty-cells | Sets whether or not to show empty cells in a table (only for the "separated borders" model) | show hide |
5M | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| table-layout | Sets the algorithm used to display the table cells, rows, and columns | auto fixed |
5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
The CSS dimension properties allow you to control the height and width of an element. It also allows you to increase the space between two lines.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| height | Sets the height of an element | auto length % |
4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| line-height | Sets the distance between lines | normal number length % |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| max-height | Sets the maximum height of an element | none length % |
- | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| max-width | Sets the maximum width of an element | none length % |
- | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| min-height | Sets the minimum height of an element |
length % |
- | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| min-width | Sets the minimum width of an element | length % |
- | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| width | Sets the width of an element | auto % length |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
The CSS classification properties allow you to control how to display an element, set where an image will appear in another element, position an element relative to its normal position, position an element using an absolute value, and how to control the visibility of an element.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| clear | Sets the sides of an element where other floating elements are not allowed | left right both none |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| cursor | Specifies the type of cursor to be displayed | url auto crosshair default pointer move e-resize ne-resize nw-resize n-resize se-resize sw-resize s-resize w-resize text wait help |
4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| display | Sets how/if an element is displayed | none inline block list-item run-in compact marker table inline-table table-row-group table-header-group table-footer-group table-row table-column-group table-column table-cell table-caption |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| float | Sets where an image or a text will appear in another element | left right none |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| position | Places an element in a static, relative, absolute or fixed position | static relative absolute fixed |
4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| visibility | Sets if an element should be visible or invisible | visible hidden collapse |
4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
The CSS positioning properties allow you to specify the left, right, top, and bottom position of an element. It also allows you to set the shape of an element, place an element behind another, and to specify what should happen when an element's content is too big to fit in a specified area.
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property | Description | Values | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bottom | Sets how far the bottom edge of an element is above/below the bottom edge of the parent element | auto % length |
5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| clip | Sets the shape of an element. The element is clipped into this shape, and displayed | shape auto |
4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| left | Sets how far the left edge of an element is to the right/left of the left edge of the parent element | auto % length |
4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| overflow |
Sets what happens if the content of an element overflow its area | visible hidden scroll auto |
4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| position | Places an element in a static, relative, absolute or fixed position | static relative absolute fixed |
4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| right | Sets how far the right edge of an element is to the left/right of the right edge of the parent element | auto % length |
5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| top | Sets how far the top edge of an element is above/below the top edge of the parent element | auto % length |
4 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| vertical-align | Sets the vertical alignment of an element | baseline sub super top text-top middle bottom text-bottom length % |
4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| z-index | Sets the stack order of an element | auto number |
4 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
Browser support: IE: Internet Explorer, F: Firefox, N: Netscape.
W3C: The number in the "W3C" column indicates in which CSS recommendation the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Pseudo-class | Purpose | IE | F | N | W3C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :active | Adds special style to an activated element | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| :focus | Adds special style to an element while the element has focus | - | 1.5 | 8 | 2 |
| :hover | Adds special style to an element when you mouse over it | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| :link | Adds special style to an unvisited link | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| :visited | Adds special style to a visited link | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| :first-child | Adds special style to an element that is the first child of some other element | 7 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| :lang | Allows the author to specify a language to use in a specified element | - | 1 | 8 | 2 |
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 an element | 1.5 | 8 | 2 | |
| :after | Inserts some content after an element | 1.5 | 8 | 2 |