CSS font shorthand syntax

Posted on January 11, 2008. 8 comments.

The CSS font shorthand property syntax always seem to slip my mind, so here it is, mostly for my own benefit.

Syntax

The syntax is:

font: style variant weight size/line-height family;

The required parts of this shorthand is size and family. You should always stick with the ordering given above, which is what the W3C recommends.

Examples

Example 1:

font-size: 14px;
font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;

/* Combined into one shorthand rule */
font: 14px Helvetica, sans-serif;

Example 2:

font-weight: bold;
font-size: 14px;
line-height: 1.5;
font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;

/* Combined into one shorthand rule */
font: bold 14px/1.5 Helvetica, sans-serif;

Example 3:

font-style: italic;
font-variant: small-caps;
font-weight: bold;
font-size: 1em;
line-height: 140%;
font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;

/* Combined into one shorthand rule */
font: italic small-caps bold 1em/140% Helvetica, sans-serif;

Source: 456 Berea Street on shorthand properties. (You’ll find many more timesavers in that article.)

Tags: css
8 comments
  • Anders-Meyer Eldøy says:

    Is this compatible with all browsers?

    I have experienced various troubles when using the background: shorthand syntax.

  • Anders-Meyer Eldøy says:

    Is this compatible with all browsers?

    I have experienced various troubles when using the background: shorthand syntax.

  • sftco says:

    ya sometimes they give prob with IE 6 , but work well with ff and ie 7

  • porov99 says:

    Thanks for that, i had forgotted how to use the shorthand as well. It can save a lot of space, and also size. I had a css file that was something like 10kb when i cleaned it up a little it became less than 6kb

  • Eduard says:

    I really enjoyed reading all of your posts.

  • dıs cephe says:

    thanks friends..

  • hekimboard says:

    thanks dıs cephe and hekimboard.

  • jos says:

    This works in firefox and opera, really nice

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