The white-space CSS property determines how whitespace inside an element is handled. To make words break within themselves, use overflow-wrap, word-break, or hyphens instead.
/* Keyword values */ white-space: normal; white-space: nowrap; white-space: pre; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre-line; /* Global values */ white-space: inherit; white-space: initial; white-space: unset;
<div class="grid"> <div class="col"> <div class="cell"> <div class="label">normal</div> <div> <p class="wspNormal"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla pellentesque metus eget massa feugiat lobortis. </p> </div> </div> <div class="cell"> <div class="label">pre-wrap</div> <div> <p class="wspPreWrap"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla pellentesque metus eget massa feugiat lobortis. </p> </div> </div> <div class="cell"> <div class="label">pre-line</div> <div> <p class="wspPreLine"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla pellentesque metus eget massa feugiat lobortis. </p> </div> </div> <div class="cell"> <div class="label">nowrap</div> <div> <p class="wspNowrap"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla pellentesque metus eget massa feugiat lobortis. </p> </div> </div> <div class="cell"> <div class="label">pre</div> <div> <p class="wspPre"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla pellentesque metus eget massa feugiat lobortis. </p> </div> </div> <div class="note"> Examples above are applied to the following HTML (square represents white spaces): <pre>☐☐<p> ☐☐☐☐Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. ☐☐☐☐Nulla pellentesque metus eget massa feugiat lobortis. ☐☐</p></pre> </div> </div> </div>
html,body {
height: 100%;
box-sizing: border-box;
}
pre { margin-bottom: 0; }
.grid {
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
display: flex;
background: #EEE;
font: 1em monospace;
}
.row {
display: flex;
flex: 1 auto;
flex-direction: row;
flex-wrap: wrap;
justify-content: space-between;
}
.col {
display: flex;
flex: 1 auto;
flex-direction: column;
}
.cell {
box-sizing: border-box;
margin: .5em;
padding: 0;
background-color: #FFF;
overflow: hidden;
text-align: center;
}
.note {
background: #fff3d4;
padding: 1em;
margin: .5em;
font: .8em sans-serif;
text-align: left;
flex: none;
}
p {
width: 50%;
font: .8em sans-serif;
max-width: 100%;
box-sizing: border-box;
overflow: hidden;
resize: horizontal;
background: #E4F0F5;
padding: .5em;
margin: .5em auto 0;
text-align: left;
}
.wspNormal { white-space: normal; }
.wspNowrap { white-space: nowrap; }
.wspPre { white-space: pre; }
.wspPreWrap { white-space: pre-wrap; }
.wspPreLine { white-space: pre-line; }
| Initial value | normal |
|---|---|
| Applies to | all elements |
| Inherited | yes |
| Media | visual |
| Computed value | as specified |
| Animation type | discrete |
| Canonical order | the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar |
Syntax
The white-space property is specified as a single keyword chosen from the list of values below.
Values
normal- Sequences of whitespace are collapsed. Newline characters in the source are handled the same as other whitespace. Lines are broken as necessary to fill line boxes.
nowrap- Collapses whitespace as for
normal, but suppresses line breaks (text wrapping) within the source. pre- Sequences of whitespace are preserved. Lines are only broken at newline characters in the source and at
<br>elements. pre-wrap- Sequences of whitespace are preserved. Lines are broken at newline characters, at
<br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes. pre-line- Sequences of whitespace are collapsed. Lines are broken at newline characters, at
<br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes.
The following table summarizes the behavior of the various white-space values:
| New lines | Spaces and tabs | Text wrapping | |
|---|---|---|---|
normal |
Collapse | Collapse | Wrap |
nowrap |
Collapse | Collapse | No wrap |
pre |
Preserve | Preserve | No wrap |
pre-wrap |
Preserve | Preserve | Wrap |
pre-line |
Preserve | Collapse | Wrap |
Formal syntax
normal | pre | nowrap | pre-wrap | pre-line
Examples
Basic example
code {
white-space: pre;
}
Line breaks inside <pre> elements
pre {
word-wrap: break-word; /* IE 5.5-7 */
white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; /* Firefox 1.0-2.0 */
white-space: pre-wrap; /* Modern browsers */
}
See it in action
<div id="css-code" class="box">
p { white-space: <select>
<option>normal</option>
<option>nowrap</option>
<option>pre</option>
<option>pre-wrap</option>
<option>pre-line</option>
</select> }
</div>
<div id="results" class="box">
<p> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>
</div>
.box {
width: 300px;
padding: 16px;
border-radius: 10px;
}
#css-code {
background-color: rgb(220,220,220);
font-size: 16px;
}
#results {
background-color: rgb(230,230,230);
overflow-x: scroll;
height: 400px;
white-space: normal;
font-size: 14px;
}
var select = document.querySelector("#css-code select");
var results = document.querySelector("#results p");
select.addEventListener("change", function(e) {
results.setAttribute("style", "white-space: "+e.target.value);
})
Source
<p> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>
CSS + Result
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| CSS Text Module Level 3 The definition of 'white-space' in that specification. |
Working Draft | Precisely defines the breaking algorithms. |
| CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'white-space' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
| Feature | Chrome | Edge | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari (WebKit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support (normal and nowrap) |
1.0 | (Yes) | 1.0 (1.7 or earlier) | 5.5[1] | 4.0 | 1.0 (85) |
pre |
1.0 | (Yes) | 1.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 (85) |
pre-wrap |
1.0 | (Yes) | 1.0 (1.7 or earlier)-moz 3.0 (1.9) |
8.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 (522) |
pre-line |
1.0 | (Yes) | 3.5 (1.9.1) | 8.0 | 9.5 | 3.0 (522) |
Support on <textarea> |
1.0 | ? | 36 (36) | 5.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 (85) |
| Feature | Android | Edge | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Phone | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | ? | (Yes) | ? | ? | ? | ? |
[1] Internet Explorer 5.5+ supports word-wrap: break-word;.
See also
- Properties that define how words break within themselves:
overflow-wrap,word-break,hyphens
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