CSS Pseudo-classes

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CSS Pseudo-classes

A CSS pseudo-class is a keyword that can be added to a selector, to define a style for a special state of an element.

Some common use for pseudo-classes:

Style an element when a user moves the mouse over it
Style visited and unvisited links differently
Style an element when it gets focus
Style valid/invalid/required/optional form elements
Style an element that is the first child of its parent

Syntax

Pseudo-classes are always denoted by a single colon (:) followed by the pseudo-class name:

selector:pseudo-class-name {
CSS properties
}

Here we use the :hover pseudo-class and the :focus pseudo-class:

Mouse Over Me

Pseudo-classes Used on Links

For HTML links, it is common to use the following pseudo-classes:

:link - Styles unvisited links
:visited - Styles visited links
:hover - Styles an link on mouse over
:active - Styles an activated link

Example

Display links in different colors depending on state:

/* unvisited link */
a:link {
color: #FF0000;
}

/* visited link */
a:visited {
color: #00FF00;
}

/* mouse over link */
a:hover {
color: #FF00FF;
}

/* selected link */
a:active {
color: #0000FF;
}

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Note: a:hover MUST come after a:link and a:visited in the CSS definition in order to be effective! a:active MUST come after a:hover in the CSS definition in order to be effective! Pseudo-class names are not case-sensitive.

:hover on <div>

Here is an example of using the :hover pseudo-class on a <div> element:

Example

div:hover {
background-color: blue;
}

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:focus on <input>

Here is an example of using the :focus pseudo-class to style an input field when it gets focus:

Example

input:focus {
background-color: yellow;
}

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Pseudo-classes and HTML Classes

Pseudo-classes can easily be combined with HTML classes:

Example

Add a :hover pseudo-class to the <a> element with class "highlight":

a.highlight:hover {
color: #ff0000;
}

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Simple Tooltip Hover

Hover over a <div> element to show a <p> element (like a tooltip):

Example

p {
display: none;
background-color: yellow;
padding: 20px;
}

div:hover p {
display: block;
}

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The CSS :first-child Pseudo-class

The :first-child pseudo-class matches a specific element that is the first child of another element.

Style all first child <p> elements

In the following example, the selector matches all <p> elements that is the first child of any element:

Example

p:first-child {
color: blue;
}

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Style the first <em> element in all <p> elements

In the following example, the selector matches the first <em> element in all <p> elements:

Example

p em:first-child {
color: blue;
}

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Style all <em> elements in all first child <p> elements

In the following example, the selector matches all <em> elements in <p> elements that are the first child of another element:

Example

p:first-child em {
color: blue;
}

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The CSS :lang() Pseudo-class

The :lang() pseudo-class is used to select elements with a lang attribute with the specified value.

Example

Define the quotation marks for <q> elements with lang="no":

<html>
<head>
<style>
q:lang(no) {
quotes: "~" "~";
}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<p>Some text <q lang="no">A quote in a paragraph</q> Some text.</p>

</body>
</html>

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