Revision 732075 of Pseudo-classes

<p>{{ CSSRef() }}</p>

<p>A CSS <strong><em><dfn>pseudo-class</dfn></em></strong> is a keyword added to selectors that specifies a special state of the element to be selected. For example {{ Cssxref(":hover") }} will apply a style when the user hovers over the element specified by the selector.</p>

<p>Pseudo-classes, together with {{ Cssxref("pseudo-elements") }}, let you apply a style to an element not only in relation to the content of the document tree, but also in relation to external factors like the history of the navigator ({{ cssxref(":visited") }}, for example), the status of its content (like {{ cssxref(":checked") }} on some form elements), or the position of the mouse (like {{ cssxref(":hover") }} which lets you know if the mouse is over an element or not).</p>

<h2 id="Syntax">Syntax</h2>

<pre class="syntaxbox">
selector:pseudo-class {
  property: value;
} 
</pre>

<h2 id="Index_of_standard_pseudo-classes">Index of standard pseudo-classes</h2>

<div class="index">
<ul>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":active") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":checked") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":default") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":dir", ":dir()")}}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":disabled") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":empty") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":enabled") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":first") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":first-child") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":first-of-type") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":fullscreen") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":focus") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":hover") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":indeterminate") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":in-range") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":invalid") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":lang", ":lang()") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":last-child") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":last-of-type") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":left") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":link") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":not", ":not()") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":nth-child", ":nth-child()") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":nth-last-child", ":nth-last-child()") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":nth-last-of-type", ":nth-last-of-type()") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":nth-of-type", ":nth-of-type()") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":only-child") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":only-of-type") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":optional") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":out-of-range") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":read-only") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":read-write") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":required") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":right") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":root") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":scope") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":target") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":valid") }}</li>
 <li>{{ Cssxref(":visited") }}</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h2 id="Specifications"><span>Specifications</span></h2>

<table class="standard-table">
 <thead>
  <tr>
   <th scope="col">Specification</th>
   <th scope="col">Status</th>
   <th scope="col">Comment</th>
  </tr>
 </thead>
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <td>{{ SpecName('Fullscreen') }}</td>
   <td>{{ Spec2('Fullscreen') }}</td>
   <td>Defined <code>:fullscreen</code>.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{ SpecName('HTML WHATWG') }}</td>
   <td>{{ Spec2('HTML WHATWG') }}</td>
   <td>No change from {{ SpecName('HTML5 W3C') }}.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('CSS4 Selectors')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('CSS4 Selectors')}}</td>
   <td>Defined <code>:any-link</code>, <code>:local-link</code>, <code>:scope</code>, <code>:active-drop-target</code>, <code>:valid-drop-target</code>, <code>:invalid-drop-target</code>, <code>:current</code>, <code>:past</code>, <code>:future</code>, <code>:placeholder-shown</code>, <code>:user-error</code>, <code>:blank</code>, <code>:nth-match()</code>, <code>:nth-last-match()</code>, <code>:nth-column()</code>, <code>:nth-last-column()</code>, and <code>:matches()</code>.<br />
    No significant change for pseudo-classes defined in {{SpecName('CSS3 Selectors')}} and {{SpecName('HTML5 W3C')}} (though semantic meaning not taken over).</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{ SpecName('HTML5 W3C') }}</td>
   <td>{{ Spec2('HTML5 W3C') }}</td>
   <td>Defined the semantic meaning, in the HTML context, of <code>:link</code>, <code>:visited</code>, <code>:active</code>, <code>:enabled</code>, <code>:disabled</code>, <code>:checked</code>, and <code>:indeterminate</code>.<br />
    Defined <code>:default</code>, <code>:valid</code>, <code>:invalid</code>, <code>:in-range</code>, <code>:out-of-range</code>, <code>:required</code>, <code>:optional</code>, <code>:read-only</code>, <code>:read-write</code>, and <code>:dir()</code>.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{ SpecName('CSS3 Basic UI') }}</td>
   <td>{{ Spec2('CSS3 Basic UI') }}</td>
   <td>Defined <code>:default</code>, <code>:valid</code>, <code>:invalid</code>, <code>:in-range</code>, <code>:out-of-range</code>, <code>:required</code>, <code>:optional</code>, <code>:read-only</code>, and <code>:read-write</code>, but without the associated semantic meaning.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('CSS3 Selectors')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('CSS3 Selectors')}}</td>
   <td>Defined <code>:target</code>, <code>:root</code>, <code>:nth-child()</code>, <code>:nth-last-of-child()</code>, <code>:nth-of-type()</code>, <code>:nth-last-of-type()</code>, <code>:last-child</code>, <code>:first-of-type</code>, <code>:last-of-type</code>, <code>:only-child</code>, <code>:only-of-type</code>, <code>:empty</code>, and <code>:not()</code>.<br />
    Defined the syntax of <code>:enabled</code>, <code>:disabled</code>, <code>:checked</code>, and <code>:indeterminate</code>, but without the associated semantic meaning.<br />
    No significant change for pseudo-classes defined in {{SpecName('CSS2.1')}}.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('CSS2.1')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('CSS2.1')}}</td>
   <td>Defined <code>:lang()</code>, <code>:first-child</code>, <code>:hover</code>, and <code>:focus</code>.<br />
    No significant change for pseudo-classes defined in {{SpecName('CSS1')}}.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('CSS1')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('CSS1')}}</td>
   <td>Defined <code>:link</code>, <code>:visited</code>, and <code>:active</code>, but without the associated semantic meaning.</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

<h2>See Also</h2>

<ul>
 <li>{{ Cssxref("pseudo-elements") }}</li>
</ul>