CSS Reference
CSS ReferenceCSS Selectors
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CSS Selector Reference
W3Schools' CSS reference is tested regularly with all major browsers.
Tested: January 13, 2012.
CSS Selectors
In CSS, selectors are patterns used to select the element(s) you want to style.
The "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1, CSS2, or CSS3).
| Selector | Example | Example description | CSS |
|---|---|---|---|
| .class | .intro | Selects all elements with class="intro" | 1 |
| #id | #firstname | Selects the element with id="firstname" | 1 |
| * | * | Selects all elements | 2 |
| element | p | Selects all <p> elements | 1 |
| element,element | div,p | Selects all <div> elements and all <p> elements | 1 |
| element element | div p | Selects all <p> elements inside <div> elements | 1 |
| element>element | div>p | Selects all <p> elements where the parent is a <div> element | 2 |
| element+element | div+p | Selects all <p> elements that are placed immediately after <div> elements | 2 |
| [attribute] | [target] | Selects all elements with a target attribute | 2 |
| [attribute=value] | [target=_blank] | Selects all elements with target="_blank" | 2 |
| [attribute~=value] | [title~=flower] | Selects all elements with a title attribute containing the word "flower" | 2 |
| [attribute|=value] | [lang|=en] | Selects all elements with a lang attribute value starting with "en" | 2 |
| :link | a:link | Selects all unvisited links | 1 |
| :visited | a:visited | Selects all visited links | 1 |
| :active | a:active | Selects the active link | 1 |
| :hover | a:hover | Selects links on mouse over | 1 |
| :focus | input:focus | Selects the input element which has focus | 2 |
| :first-letter | p:first-letter | Selects the first letter of every <p> element | 1 |
| :first-line | p:first-line | Selects the first line of every <p> element | 1 |
| :first-child | p:first-child | Selects every <p> element that is the first child of its parent | 2 |
| :before | p:before | Insert content before the content of every <p> element | 2 |
| :after | p:after | Insert content after every <p> element | 2 |
| :lang(language) | p:lang(it) | Selects every <p> element with a lang attribute value starting with "it" | 2 |
| element1~element2 | p~ul | Selects every <ul> element that are preceded by a <p> element | 3 |
| [attribute^=value] | a[src^="https"] | Selects every <a> element whose src attribute value begins with "https" | 3 |
| [attribute$=value] | a[src$=".pdf"] | Selects every <a> element whose src attribute value ends with ".pdf" | 3 |
| [attribute*=value] | a[src*="w3schools"] | Selects every <a> element whose src attribute value contains the substring "w3schools" | 3 |
| :first-of-type | p:first-of-type | Selects every <p> element that is the first <p> element of its parent | 3 |
| :last-of-type | p:last-of-type | Selects every <p> element that is the last <p> element of its parent | 3 |
| :only-of-type | p:only-of-type | Selects every <p> element that is the only <p> element of its parent | 3 |
| :only-child | p:only-child | Selects every <p> element that is the only child of its parent | 3 |
| :nth-child(n) | p:nth-child(2) | Selects every <p> element that is the second child of its parent | 3 |
| :nth-last-child(n) | p:nth-last-child(2) | Selects every <p> element that is the second child of its parent, counting from the last child | 3 |
| :nth-of-type(n) | p:nth-of-type(2) | Selects every <p> element that is the second <p> element of its parent | 3 |
| :nth-last-of-type(n) | p:nth-last-of-type(2) | Selects every <p> element that is the second <p> element of its parent, counting from the last child | 3 |
| :last-child | p:last-child | Selects every <p> element that is the last child of its parent | 3 |
| :root | :root | Selects the document’s root element | 3 |
| :empty | p:empty | Selects every <p> element that has no children (including text nodes) | 3 |
| :target | #news:target | Selects the current active #news element (clicked on a URL containing that anchor name) | 3 |
| :enabled | input:enabled | Selects every enabled <input> element | 3 |
| :disabled | input:disabled | Selects every disabled <input> element | 3 |
| :checked | input:checked | Selects every checked <input> element | 3 |
| :not(selector) | :not(p) | Selects every element that is not a <p> element | 3 |
| ::selection | ::selection | Selects the portion of an element that is selected by a user | 3 |
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Copyright 1999-2012 by Refsnes Data. All Rights Reserved.
Tutorials, references, and examples are constantly reviewed to avoid errors, but we cannot warrant full correctness of all content.
While using this site, you agree to have read and accepted our terms of use and privacy policy.
Copyright 1999-2012 by Refsnes Data. All Rights Reserved.