initial-letter
Limited availability
This feature is not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers.
The initial-letter
CSS property sets styling for dropped, raised, and sunken initial letters.
Syntax
css
/* Keyword values */
initial-letter: normal;
/* Numeric values */
initial-letter: 1.5; /* Initial letter occupies 1.5 lines */
initial-letter: 3; /* Initial letter occupies 3 lines */
initial-letter: 3 2; /* Initial letter occupies 3 lines and
sinks 2 lines */
/* Global values */
initial-letter: inherit;
initial-letter: initial;
initial-letter: revert;
initial-letter: revert-layer;
initial-letter: unset;
The keyword value normal
, or a <number>
optionally followed by an <integer>
.
Values
normal
-
No special initial-letter effect. Text behaves as normal.
<number>
-
Defines the size of the initial letter, in terms of how many lines it occupies. Negative values are not allowed.
<integer>
-
Defines the number of lines the initial letter should sink when the size of it is given. Values must be greater than zero. If omitted, it duplicates the size value, floored to the nearest positive whole number.
Formal definition
Initial value | normal |
---|---|
Applies to | ::first-letter pseudo-elements and inline-level first child of a block container |
Inherited | no |
Computed value | as specified |
Animation type | by computed value type |
Formal syntax
initial-letter =
normal |
<number [1,∞]> <integer [1,∞]> |
<number [1,∞]> && [ drop | raise ]?
Examples
Setting initial letter size
HTML
html
<p class="normal">Initial letter is normal</p>
<p class="onefive">Initial letter occupies 1.5 lines</p>
<p class="three">Initial letter occupies 3 lines</p>
CSS
css
.normal::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: normal;
initial-letter: normal;
}
.onefive::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: 1.5;
initial-letter: 1.5;
}
.three::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: 3;
initial-letter: 3;
}
Result
Specifications
Specification |
---|
CSS Inline Layout Module Level 3 # sizing-drop-initials |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser