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:

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:

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:

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.

CSS2 - 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:

CSS2 - 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:

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).

Ektron CMS400.NET Version 7.6 delivers all of the flexibility and features you need to deploy the Web site you want, quickly and efficiently. learn more...       6 ways to take your site to the next level with Ektron: Create site stickiness through social networking. Keep it personal, relevant and interactive and they'll come back for more. Keep it open. Your site needs to be ready and able to connect to outside services. Ektron's open API gives you maximum flexibility. Streamline content and document management. Users need to quickly and intuitively find and add information. Empower your content authors. Reduce IT bottlenecks by allowing business users to create and edit Web content and forms. Climb to the top of search rankings. SEO tools, URL aliasing and eCommerce for your digital marketing strategy Add powerful Web 2.0 tools like blogs, wikis, forums, geo-mapping, rating systems and RSS feeds easily. See why there are 20,000+ Ektron integrations worldwide. Request an INSTANT DEMO or download a FREE TRIAL today.