white-space
The white-space
CSS property sets how white space inside an element is handled.
Try it
The property specifies two things:
- Whether and how white space is collapsed.
- Whether lines may wrap at soft-wrap opportunities.
Note: To make words break within themselves, use overflow-wrap
, word-break
, or hyphens
instead.
Syntax
css
/* Keyword values */
white-space: normal;
white-space: nowrap;
white-space: pre;
white-space: pre-wrap;
white-space: pre-line;
white-space: break-spaces;
/* Global values */
white-space: inherit;
white-space: initial;
white-space: revert;
white-space: revert-layer;
white-space: unset;
The white-space
property is specified as a single keyword chosen from the list of values below.
Values
normal
-
Sequences of white space are collapsed. Newline characters in the source are handled the same as other white space. Lines are broken as necessary to fill line boxes.
nowrap
-
Collapses white space as for
normal
, but suppresses line breaks (text wrapping) within the source. pre
-
Sequences of white space are preserved. Lines are only broken at newline characters in the source and at
<br>
elements. pre-wrap
-
Sequences of white space are preserved. Lines are broken at newline characters, at
<br>
, and as necessary to fill line boxes. pre-line
-
Sequences of white space are collapsed. Lines are broken at newline characters, at
<br>
, and as necessary to fill line boxes. break-spaces
-
The behavior is identical to that of
pre-wrap
, except that:- Any sequence of preserved white space always takes up space, including at the end of the line.
- A line breaking opportunity exists after every preserved white space character, including between white space characters.
- Such preserved spaces take up space and do not hang, and thus affect the box's intrinsic sizes (min-content size and max-content size).
The following table summarizes the behavior of the various white-space
values:
New lines | Spaces and tabs | Text wrapping | End-of-line spaces | End-of-line other space separators | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
normal |
Collapse | Collapse | Wrap | Remove | Hang |
nowrap |
Collapse | Collapse | No wrap | Remove | Hang |
pre |
Preserve | Preserve | No wrap | Preserve | No wrap |
pre-wrap |
Preserve | Preserve | Wrap | Hang | Hang |
pre-line |
Preserve | Collapse | Wrap | Remove | Hang |
break-spaces |
Preserve | Preserve | Wrap | Wrap | Wrap |
Note: There is a distinction made between spaces and other space separators. These are defined as follows:
- spaces
-
Spaces (U+0020), tabs (U+0009), and segment breaks (such as newlines).
- other space separators
-
All other space separators defined in Unicode, other than those already defined as spaces.
Where white space is said to hang, this can affect the size of the box when measured for intrinsic sizing.
Collapsing of white space
The CSS Text specification contains a Collapsing and Transformation section that precisely defines what "white space is collapsed" means, including an example with an illustration. Usually, it means reducing sequences of multiple white-space characters down to a single space character — though in some cases it means reducing them to no character (the empty string).
Formal definition
Initial value | normal |
---|---|
Applies to | all elements |
Inherited | yes |
Computed value | as specified |
Animation type | discrete |
Formal syntax
Examples
Basic example
css
code {
white-space: pre;
}
Line breaks inside <pre> elements
css
pre {
white-space: pre-wrap;
}
In action
HTML
html
<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>
Result
Specifications
Specification |
---|
CSS Text Module Level 3 # white-space-property |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
- Properties that define how words break within themselves:
overflow-wrap
,word-break
,hyphens