CSS Pseudo Element Styling and Selection Techniques

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CSS pseudo elements are a powerful tool for adding dynamic effects to your website. They allow you to style specific parts of an element without modifying the underlying HTML.

You can use pseudo elements to add a before or after content to an element, which can be particularly useful for adding icons or graphics. For example, you can use the ::before pseudo element to add a decorative icon before a heading.

Pseudo elements can be styled independently of the rest of the element, giving you a high degree of control over their appearance. This can be especially useful for creating complex, dynamic effects.

Pseudo Elements

Pseudo elements are denoted by a double colon (::) notation.

They are used to style a specific part of an element that doesn't exist in the HTML markup, such as the first letter of a paragraph or the selected part of a document.

A pseudo-element can be used to add decorative styles, create special effects, and modify the appearance of certain parts of an element.

Credit: youtube.com, Learn CSS Pseudo Elements In 8 Minutes

Pseudo-elements can be used to style portions of the document that don't necessarily map to the document's tree structure. For instance, the ::first-line pseudo-element can select content on the first formatted line of an element after text wrapping.

Only one pseudo-element can be used in a selector, and it must appear after all the other components. For example, p::last-line:hover is invalid.

Here are some pseudo-elements defined in CSS, along with the sections where they are mentioned:

  • ::after (Example 3)
  • ::before (Example 3)
  • ::first-letter (Example 5, Example 6, Example 7)
  • ::first-line (Example 8, Example 7)
  • ::selection (Example 9)
  • ::target-text (Example 10)
  • ::spelling-error (Example 10)
  • ::grammar-error (Example 10)

What Is?

A pseudo-element in CSS is used to style a specific part of an element that doesn't exist in the HTML markup, like the first letter of a paragraph or the selected part in a document.

Pseudo-elements are denoted by a double colon (::) notation, making them easily identifiable in your code.

Only one pseudo-element can be used in a selector, and it must appear after all other components. For example, p::last-line:hover is invalid because it has two pseudo-elements.

Credit: youtube.com, Before and After pseudo elements explained - part one: how they work

Pseudo-elements can be used to add decorative styles, create special effects, and modify the appearance of certain parts of an element that already has a state applied to it.

Some common pseudo-elements include ::before, ::after, ::first-letter, ::first-line, and ::marker.

Here are some examples of pseudo-elements and their uses:

Each pseudo-element has a specific syntax, like ::name-of-pseudo, and is associated with an originating element.

First Letter

The first letter pseudo-element is a powerful tool in CSS, allowing you to target and style the first letter of an element's text content.

You can use the ::first-letter pseudo-element to style the first letter of elements like div, paragraph, span, etc. It's a great way to add a touch of personality to your text.

Not all CSS properties can be used when targeting ::first-letter. The available properties are: color, background properties, border properties, float, font properties, and text properties.

In languages like Dutch, if the letter combination "ij" appears at the beginning of an element, both letters should be considered within the ::first-letter pseudo-element.

Credit: youtube.com, More interesting designs with ::first-letter and ::first-line pseudo-elements

Preceding and following punctuation must also be included as part of the first-letter text in the ::first-letter pseudo-element. This includes all punctuation that precedes the first letter, any punctuation that follows the first letter (excluding opening punctuation and dashes), and any intervening typographic space.

Here are the types of punctuation that are included in the ::first-letter pseudo-element:

  • All punctuation that precedes the first letter
  • Any punctuation that follows the first letter (excluding opening punctuation and dashes)
  • Any intervening typographic space (excluding IDEOGRAPHIC SPACE and word-separator characters)

The ::first-letter pseudo-element can be used to add decorative styles, create special effects, and modify the appearance of certain parts of an element.

First-Line

The first-line pseudo-element is a powerful tool in CSS that allows you to style the first line of text in an element.

You can use the ::first-line pseudo-element to target the first line of text in elements like div, paragraph, span, etc. It's denoted by a double colon (::) notation.

The ::first-line pseudo-element is automatically inserted by the user agent at the beginning of every element, so you don't need to add any extra markup.

Credit: youtube.com, #32 CSS Pseudo-Elements | First-Line | First-Letter | Before | After | CSS Tutorial

It's worth noting that the length of the first line depends on a number of factors, including the width of the page, the font size, etc.

Here are some examples of properties that you can apply to a ::first-line pseudo-element:

  • all font properties (e.g. color, font-size, font-family)
  • background properties (e.g. background-color, background-image)
  • text properties (e.g. text-align, text-decoration)
  • ruby-position property

You can't apply properties like writing-mode, direction, or text-orientation to a ::first-line pseudo-element, though.

Also, keep in mind that setting the line-height property on ::first-line can both increase and decrease the height of the first line box.

Selection

Selection is a powerful way to style user-selected text. The ::selection pseudo-element allows you to style how selected text looks, and it can be used to style all selected text or in combination with other selectors for a more specific selection style.

You can use the ::selection pseudo-element to style the user-selected text inside any elements like div, paragraph, span, etc. This is demonstrated in the example code.

Only a subset of CSS properties are allowed for the ::selection pseudo-element, including color, background-color, and text properties. However, background-image is not allowed.

The ::selection pseudo-element can arbitrarily cross element boundaries without honoring its nesting structure, which makes it a flexible tool for styling selected text.

Styling Pseudo Elements

Credit: youtube.com, Before and After pseudo elements explained - part one: how they work

Styling Pseudo Elements can be a powerful tool in your CSS toolkit. You can use ::before and ::after pseudo-elements to insert text contents or images before and after any element.

The ::first-line pseudo-element behaves similarly to an inline-level box, but with certain restrictions. It can be styled with all font properties, color and opacity properties, background properties, and typesetting properties that apply to inline elements.

You can use the ::first-letter pseudo-element to target the first letter of text content, but not all CSS properties can be used when targeting this pseudo-element. The available properties are: color, background properties, border properties, float, font properties, text properties.

Here's a list of properties that can be applied to the ::first-line pseudo-element:

  • all font properties
  • color and opacity properties
  • all background properties
  • any typesetting properties that apply to inline elements
  • all text decoration properties
  • any inline layout properties that apply to inline elements

Remember, the ::selection pseudo-element can only be styled with a limited set of properties that do not affect layout. This includes color, background-color, text-decoration, and text-shadow.

First Letters and Punctuation

The first letter of a paragraph is a great place to add some visual flair with CSS pseudo-elements. You can use the ::first-letter pseudo-element to target the first letter of text content of any element, such as a div, paragraph, or span.

Credit: youtube.com, Learn CSS Pseudo Element Selectors | Style First Letter | CSS Tutorial | Knowledge Meetup

In CSS, the ::first-letter pseudo-element is similar to an inline box, and you can apply various properties to it, including all font properties, color and opacity properties, background properties, and text decoration properties. These properties will help you style the first letter of your text.

The ::first-letter pseudo-element also includes any preceding and following punctuation, such as characters that belong to the Punctuation (P*) Unicode general category. This means that if you have a paragraph that starts with a letter combination like "ij", both letters should be considered within the ::first-letter pseudo-element.

To determine what constitutes the first letter, user agents should tailor their definition of typographic character unit to reflect the first-letter traditions of the content language. This is especially important for languages like Dutch, where the letter combination "ij" is considered a single unit.

Here's a summary of the types of punctuation that are included in the ::first-letter pseudo-element:

  • All punctuation that precedes the first letter.
  • Any punctuation that follows the first letter, excluding opening punctuation and dashes.
  • Any intervening typographic space, excluding IDEOGRAPHIC SPACE and word-separator characters.

By understanding how to style the first letter of your text, you can add a touch of personality to your designs and make your content stand out.

Example #3 – After

Credit: youtube.com, Learn CSS ::before and ::after in 4 Minutes

The pseudo-element ::after is used to insert text contents or images after any element. This is a common use case for pseudo-elements in CSS.

You can think of it as adding a layer of content to an element without actually modifying the element itself. For example, you can use ::after to add a background image to an element without affecting its original content.

The ::after pseudo-element is similar to ::before, except that it adds content after the element instead of before it. This can be useful for creating complex shapes or designs without using images.

Here are some key facts about the ::after pseudo-element:

  • It is used to insert text contents or images after any element.
  • It is similar to ::before, but adds content after the element instead of before it.
  • It can be used to create complex shapes or designs without using images.

The identity, lifetime, and nullness of the return value of the pseudo() method, which returns the CSSPseudoElement object representing the pseudo-element, is still under discussion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the use of :: in CSS?

In CSS, double colons (::) are used to target pseudo-elements, which allow you to style specific parts of an element, such as the first line of a paragraph. This is in contrast to pseudo-classes, which use a single colon (:).

What is the difference between pseudo-class and pseudo-element?

Pseudo-classes target an element's state, while pseudo-elements create a new element to style. This subtle difference helps you tailor your CSS to specific scenarios and design elements

What is the first letter pseudo-element?

The ::first-letter pseudo-element targets the first letter of an element, as long as it's not accompanied by other content on the same line. This allows for styling and design customization of the initial letter.

Ann Predovic

Lead Writer

Ann Predovic is a seasoned writer with a passion for crafting informative and engaging content. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for research, she has established herself as a go-to expert in various fields, including technology and software. Her writing career has taken her down a path of exploring complex topics, making them accessible to a broad audience.

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