Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 Revision 2 (CSS 2.2) Specification

Abstract

This specification defines Cascading Style Sheets level 2. CSS is a style sheet language that allows authors and users to attach style (e.g., fonts and spacing) to structured documents (e.g., HTML documents and XML applications). By separating the presentation style of documents from the content of documents, CSS simplifies Web authoring and site maintenance.

CSS 2.2 is the second revision of CSS level 2 [CSS2]. It corrects a few errors in CSS 2.1, the first revision of CSS level 2. It is not the latest version of CSS. See the "CSS Snapshot" [CSS] for an overview of specifications that make up the whole of CSS.

CSS level 2 supports media-specific style sheets so that authors may tailor the presentation of their documents to visual browsers, aural devices, printers, braille devices, handheld devices, etc. It also supports content positioning, table layout, features for internationalization and some properties related to user interface.

Status of this document

This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found in the W3C technical reports index at http://www.w3.org/TR/.

Publication as a First Public Working Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this document as other than work in progress.

This document was produced by the CSS Working Group (part of the Style Activity).

The (archived) public mailing list www-style@w3.org (see instructions) is preferred for discussion of this specification. When sending e-mail, please put the text “CSS22” in the subject, preferably like this: “[CSS22] …summary of comment…”

This document was produced by a group operating under the 5 February 2004 W3C Patent Policy. W3C maintains a public list of any patent disclosures made in connection with the deliverables of the group; that page also includes instructions for disclosing a patent. An individual who has actual knowledge of a patent which the individual believes contains Essential Claim(s) must disclose the information in accordance with section 6 of the W3C Patent Policy.

This document is governed by the 1 September 2015 W3C Process Document.

All changes since the previous Recommendation are listed in appendix C.

Full Table of Contents

• 1 About the CSS 2.2 Specification
  • 1.1 CSS 2.2 vs CSS 2
  • 1.2 Reading the specification
  • 1.3 How the specification is organized
  • 1.4 Conventions
    • 1.4.1 Document language elements and attributes
    • 1.4.2 CSS property definitions
      • 1.4.2.1 Value
      • 1.4.2.2 Initial
      • 1.4.2.3 Applies to
      • 1.4.2.4 Inherited
      • 1.4.2.5 Percentage values
      • 1.4.2.6 Media groups
      • 1.4.2.7 Computed value
    • 1.4.3 Shorthand properties
    • 1.4.4 Notes and examples
    • 1.4.5 Images and long descriptions
  • 1.5 Acknowledgments
• 2 Introduction to CSS 2.2
  • 2.1 A brief CSS 2.2 tutorial for HTML
  • 2.2 A brief CSS 2.2 tutorial for XML
  • 2.3 The CSS 2.2 processing model
    • 2.3.1 The canvas
    • 2.3.2 CSS 2.2 addressing model
  • 2.4 CSS design principles
• 3 Conformance: Requirements and Recommendations
  • 3.1 Definitions
  • 3.2 UA Conformance
  • 3.3 Error conditions
  • 3.4 The text/css content type
• 4 Syntax and basic data types
  • 4.1 Syntax
    • 4.1.1 Tokenization
    • 4.1.2 Keywords
      • 4.1.2.1 Vendor-specific extensions
      • 4.1.2.2 Informative Historical Notes
    • 4.1.3 Characters and case
    • 4.1.4 Statements
    • 4.1.5 At-rules
    • 4.1.6 Blocks
    • 4.1.7 Rule sets, declaration blocks, and selectors
    • 4.1.8 Declarations and properties
    • 4.1.9 Comments
  • 4.2 Rules for handling parsing errors
  • 4.3 Values
    • 4.3.1 Integers and real numbers
    • 4.3.2 Lengths
    • 4.3.3 Percentages
    • 4.3.4 URLs and URIs
    • 4.3.5 Counters
    • 4.3.6 Colors
    • 4.3.7 Strings
    • 4.3.8 Unsupported Values
  • 4.4 CSS style sheet representation
    • 4.4.1 Referring to characters not represented in a character encoding
• 5 Selectors
  • 5.1 Pattern matching
  • 5.2 Selector syntax
    • 5.2.1 Grouping
  • 5.3 Universal selector
  • 5.4 Type selectors
  • 5.5 Descendant selectors
  • 5.6 Child selectors
  • 5.7 Adjacent sibling selectors
  • 5.8 Attribute selectors
    • 5.8.1 Matching attributes and attribute values
    • 5.8.2 Default attribute values in DTDs
    • 5.8.3 Class selectors
  • 5.9 ID selectors
  • 5.10 Pseudo-elements and pseudo-classes
  • 5.11 Pseudo-classes
    • 5.11.1 :first-child pseudo-class
    • 5.11.2 The link pseudo-classes: :link and :visited
    • 5.11.3 The dynamic pseudo-classes: :hover, :active, and :focus
    • 5.11.4 The language pseudo-class: :lang
  • 5.12 Pseudo-elements
    • 5.12.1 The :first-line pseudo-element
    • 5.12.2 The :first-letter pseudo-element
    • 5.12.3 The :before and :after pseudo-elements
• 6 Assigning property values, Cascading, and Inheritance
  • 6.1 Specified, computed, and actual values
    • 6.1.1 Specified values
    • 6.1.2 Computed values
    • 6.1.3 Used values
    • 6.1.4 Actual values
  • 6.2 Inheritance
    • 6.2.1 The 'inherit' value
  • 6.3 The @import rule
  • 6.4 The cascade
    • 6.4.1 Cascading order
    • 6.4.2 !important rules
    • 6.4.3 Calculating a selector's specificity
    • 6.4.4 Precedence of non-CSS presentational hints
• 7 Media types
  • 7.1 Introduction to media types
  • 7.2 Specifying media-dependent style sheets
    • 7.2.1 The @media rule
  • 7.3 Recognized media types
    • 7.3.1 Media groups
• 8 Box model
  • 8.1 Box dimensions
  • 8.2 Example of margins, padding, and borders
  • 8.3 Margin properties: 'margin-top', 'margin-right', 'margin-bottom', 'margin-left', and 'margin'
    • 8.3.1 Collapsing margins
  • 8.4 Padding properties: 'padding-top', 'padding-right', 'padding-bottom', 'padding-left', and 'padding'
  • 8.5 Border properties
    • 8.5.1 Border width: 'border-top-width', 'border-right-width', 'border-bottom-width', 'border-left-width', and 'border-width'
    • 8.5.2 Border color: 'border-top-color', 'border-right-color', 'border-bottom-color', 'border-left-color', and 'border-color'
    • 8.5.3 Border style: 'border-top-style', 'border-right-style', 'border-bottom-style', 'border-left-style', and 'border-style'
    • 8.5.4 Border shorthand properties: 'border-top', 'border-right', 'border-bottom', 'border-left', and 'border'
  • 8.6 The box model for inline elements in bidirectional context
• 9 Visual formatting model
  • 9.1 Introduction to the visual formatting model
    • 9.1.1 The viewport
    • 9.1.2 Containing blocks
  • 9.2 Controlling box generation
    • 9.2.1 Block-level elements and block boxes
      • 9.2.1.1 Anonymous block boxes
    • 9.2.2 Inline-level elements and inline boxes
      • 9.2.2.1 Anonymous inline boxes
    • 9.2.3 Run-in boxes
    • 9.2.4 The 'display' property
  • 9.3 Positioning schemes
    • 9.3.1 Choosing a positioning scheme: 'position' property
    • 9.3.2 Box offsets: 'top', 'right', 'bottom', 'left'
  • 9.4 Normal flow
    • 9.4.1 Block formatting contexts
    • 9.4.2 Inline formatting contexts
    • 9.4.3 Relative positioning
  • 9.5 Floats
    • 9.5.1 Positioning the float: the 'float' property
    • 9.5.2 Controlling flow next to floats: the 'clear' property
  • 9.6 Absolute positioning
    • 9.6.1 Fixed positioning
  • 9.7 Relationships between 'display', 'position', and 'float'
  • 9.8 Comparison of normal flow, floats, and absolute positioning
    • 9.8.1 Normal flow
    • 9.8.2 Relative positioning
    • 9.8.3 Floating a box
    • 9.8.4 Absolute positioning
  • 9.9 Layered presentation
    • 9.9.1 Specifying the stack level: the 'z-index' property
  • 9.10 Text direction: the 'direction' and 'unicode-bidi' properties
• 10 Visual formatting model details
  • 10.1 Definition of "containing block"
  • 10.2 Content width: the 'width' property
  • 10.3 Calculating widths and margins
    • 10.3.1 Inline, non-replaced elements
    • 10.3.2 Inline, replaced elements
    • 10.3.3 Block-level, non-replaced elements in normal flow
    • 10.3.4 Block-level, replaced elements in normal flow
    • 10.3.5 Floating, non-replaced elements
    • 10.3.6 Floating, replaced elements
    • 10.3.7 Absolutely positioned, non-replaced elements
    • 10.3.8 Absolutely positioned, replaced elements
    • 10.3.9 'Inline-block', non-replaced elements in normal flow
    • 10.3.10 'Inline-block', replaced elements in normal flow
  • 10.4 Minimum and maximum widths: 'min-width' and 'max-width'
  • 10.5 Content height: the 'height' property
  • 10.6 Calculating heights and margins
    • 10.6.1 Inline, non-replaced elements
    • 10.6.2 Inline replaced elements, block-level replaced elements in normal flow, 'inline-block' replaced elements in normal flow and floating replaced elements
    • 10.6.3 Block-level non-replaced elements in normal flow when 'overflow' computes to 'visible'
    • 10.6.4 Absolutely positioned, non-replaced elements
    • 10.6.5 Absolutely positioned, replaced elements
    • 10.6.6 Complicated cases
    • 10.6.7 'Auto' heights for block formatting context roots
  • 10.7 Minimum and maximum heights: 'min-height' and 'max-height'
  • 10.8 Line height calculations: the 'line-height' and 'vertical-align' properties
    • 10.8.1 Leading and half-leading
• 11 Visual effects
  • 11.1 Overflow and clipping
    • 11.1.1 Overflow: the 'overflow' property
    • 11.1.2 Clipping: the 'clip' property
  • 11.2 Visibility: the 'visibility' property
• 12 Generated content, automatic numbering, and lists
  • 12.1 The :before and :after pseudo-elements
  • 12.2 The 'content' property
  • 12.3 Quotation marks
    • 12.3.1 Specifying quotes with the 'quotes' property
    • 12.3.2 Inserting quotes with the 'content' property
  • 12.4 Automatic counters and numbering
    • 12.4.1 Nested counters and scope
    • 12.4.2 Counter styles
    • 12.4.3 Counters in elements with 'display: none'
  • 12.5 Lists
    • 12.5.1 Lists: the 'list-style-type', 'list-style-image', 'list-style-position', and 'list-style' properties
• 13 Paged media
  • 13.1 Introduction to paged media
  • 13.2 Page boxes: the @page rule
    • 13.2.1 Page margins
    • 13.2.2 Page selectors: selecting left, right, and first pages
    • 13.2.3 Content outside the page box
  • 13.3 Page breaks
    • 13.3.1 Page break properties: 'page-break-before', 'page-break-after', 'page-break-inside'
    • 13.3.2 Breaks inside elements: 'orphans', 'widows'
    • 13.3.3 Allowed page breaks
    • 13.3.4 Forced page breaks
    • 13.3.5 "Best" page breaks
  • 13.4 Cascading in the page context
• 14 Colors and Backgrounds
  • 14.1 Foreground color: the 'color' property
  • 14.2 The background
    • 14.2.1 Background properties: 'background-color', 'background-image', 'background-repeat', 'background-attachment', 'background-position', and 'background'
• 15 Fonts
  • 15.1 Introduction
  • 15.2 Font matching algorithm
  • 15.3 Font family: the 'font-family' property
    • 15.3.1 Generic font families
      • 15.3.1.1 serif
      • 15.3.1.2 sans-serif
      • 15.3.1.3 cursive
      • 15.3.1.4 fantasy
      • 15.3.1.5 monospace
  • 15.4 Font styling: the 'font-style' property
  • 15.5 Small-caps: the 'font-variant' property
  • 15.6 Font boldness: the 'font-weight' property
  • 15.7 Font size: the 'font-size' property
  • 15.8 Shorthand font property: the 'font' property
• 16 Text
  • 16.1 Indentation: the 'text-indent' property
  • 16.2 Alignment: the 'text-align' property
  • 16.3 Decoration
    • 16.3.1 Underlining, overlining, striking, and blinking: the 'text-decoration' property
  • 16.4 Letter and word spacing: the 'letter-spacing' and 'word-spacing' properties
  • 16.5 Capitalization: the 'text-transform' property
  • 16.6 White space: the 'white-space' property
    • 16.6.1 The 'white-space' processing model
    • 16.6.2 Example of bidirectionality with white space collapsing
    • 16.6.3 Control and combining characters' details
• 17 Tables
  • 17.1 Introduction to tables
  • 17.2 The CSS table model
    • 17.2.1 Anonymous table objects
  • 17.3 Columns
  • 17.4 Tables in the visual formatting model
    • 17.4.1 Caption position and alignment
  • 17.5 Visual layout of table contents
    • 17.5.1 Table layers and transparency
    • 17.5.2 Table width algorithms: the 'table-layout' property
      • 17.5.2.1 Fixed table layout
      • 17.5.2.2 Automatic table layout
    • 17.5.3 Table height algorithms
    • 17.5.4 Horizontal alignment in a column
    • 17.5.5 Dynamic row and column effects
  • 17.6 Borders
    • 17.6.1 The separated borders model
      • 17.6.1.1 Borders and Backgrounds around empty cells: the 'empty-cells' property
    • 17.6.2 The collapsing border model
      • 17.6.2.1 Border conflict resolution
    • 17.6.3 Border styles
• 18 User interface
  • 18.1 Cursors: the 'cursor' property
  • 18.2 System Colors
  • 18.3 User preferences for fonts
  • 18.4 Dynamic outlines: the 'outline' property
    • 18.4.1 Outlines and the focus
  • 18.5 Magnification
• Appendix A. Aural style sheets
  • A.1 The media types 'aural' and 'speech'
  • A.2 Introduction to aural style sheets
    • A.2.1 Angles
    • A.2.2 Times
    • A.2.3 Frequencies
  • A.3 Volume properties: 'volume'
  • A.4 Speaking properties: 'speak'
  • A.5 Pause properties: 'pause-before', 'pause-after', and 'pause'
  • A.6 Cue properties: 'cue-before', 'cue-after', and 'cue'
  • A.7 Mixing properties: 'play-during'
  • A.8 Spatial properties: 'azimuth' and 'elevation'
  • A.9 Voice characteristic properties: 'speech-rate', 'voice-family', 'pitch', 'pitch-range', 'stress', and 'richness'
  • A.10 Speech properties: 'speak-punctuation' and 'speak-numeral'
  • A.11 Audio rendering of tables
    • A.11.1 Speaking headers: the 'speak-header' property
  • A.12 Sample style sheet for HTML
  • A.13 Emacspeak
• Appendix B. Bibliography
  • B.1 Normative references
  • B.2 Informative references
• Appendix C. Changes
  • C.1 Changes since the Recommendation of 7 June 2011
• Appendix D. Default style sheet for HTML 4
• Appendix E. Elaborate description of Stacking Contexts
  • E.1 Definitions
  • E.2 Painting order
  • E.3 Notes
• Appendix F. Full property table
• Appendix G. Grammar of CSS 2.2
  • G.1 Grammar
  • G.2 Lexical scanner
  • G.3 Comparison of tokenization in CSS 2.2 and CSS1
  • G.4 Implementation note
• Appendix I. Index