This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for the proper prefixes to use in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the spec changes.
The writing-mode CSS property defines whether lines of text are laid out horizontally or vertically and the direction in which blocks progress.
The property specifies the block flow direction, which is the direction in which block-level containers are stacked, and the direction in which inline-level content flows within a block container. Thus the writing-mode property also determines the ordering of block-level content.
- Initial value
horizontal-tb - Applies to all elements except table row groups, table column groups, table rows, and table columns
- Inherited yes
- Media
visual - Computed value as specified
- Animatable no
- Canonical order the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar
Syntax
Formal syntax: horizontal-tb | vertical-rl | vertical-lr
writing-mode: horizontal-tb writing-mode: vertical-rl writing-mode: vertical-lr writing-mode: inherit writing-mode: initial writing-mode: unsel
Values
horizontal-tb- Content flows horizontally from left to right, vertically from top to bottom. The next horizontal line is positioned below the previous line.
vertical-rl- Content flows vertically from top to bottom, horizontally from left to right. The next vertical line is positioned to the right of the previous line.
vertical-lr- Content flows vertically from top to bottom, horizontally from right to left. The next vertical line is positioned to the left of the previous line.
lr- Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use
horizontal-tb. lr-tb- Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use
horizontal-tb. rl- Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use
horizontal-tb. tb- Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use
vertical-rl. tb-rl- Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use
vertical-rl.
Example
<p class="exampleText">Example text</p>
.exampleText {
writing-mode: vertical-rl;
}
Specification
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| CSS Writing Modes Module Level 3 The definition of 'writing-mode' in that specification. |
Candidate Recommendation | Initial definition |
Browser compatibility
| Feature | Chrome | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | (Yes) -webkit | 36 (36) [1] | 9.0 -ms[2] | (Yes) -webkit | 8.0 -webkit |
SVG 1.1 values lr, lr-tb, rl, tb, tb-rl |
(Yes) | Not supported | 9.0 -ms[2] | (Yes) | ? |
| Feature | Android | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Mobile | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | ? | 36.0 (36) [1] | ? | ? | ? |
SVG 1.1 values lr, lr-tb, rl, tb, tb-rl |
? | Not supported | ? | ? | ? |
[1] An experimental implementation is available since Gecko 36. It is governed by the preference layout.css.vertical-text.enabled defaulting to false.
[2] The implementation in Internet Explorer differs from the specification. See the related article in the Internet Explorer Dev Center.
See also
- SVG
writing-modeattribute