initial-letter CSS property
Limited availability
This feature is not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers.
The initial-letter CSS property sets the size and sink for dropped, raised, and sunken initial letters. This property applies to ::first-letter pseudo-elements and inline-level first children of block containers.
Syntax
css
/* Keyword values */
initial-letter: normal;
/* One value */
initial-letter: 3; /* 3 lines tall, baseline at line 3 */
initial-letter: 1.5; /* 1.5 lines tall, baseline at line 2 */
/* Two values */
initial-letter: 3 2; /* 3 lines tall, baseline at line 2 (raised 1 line) */
initial-letter: 3 1; /* 3 lines tall, baseline unchanged (raised 2 lines) */
/* Global values */
initial-letter: inherit;
initial-letter: initial;
initial-letter: revert;
initial-letter: revert-layer;
initial-letter: unset;
Values
The keyword value normal, or a <number> optionally followed by an <integer>.
normal-
No special initial-letter effect. Text behaves as normal.
<number>-
Defines the size of the initial letter, in terms of how many lines it occupies. Negative values are not allowed.
<integer>-
Defines the number of lines the initial letter should sink when the size of it is given. Values must be greater than zero. If omitted, it duplicates the size value, floored to the nearest positive whole number.
Formal definition
| Initial value | normal |
|---|---|
| Applies to | ::first-letter pseudo-elements and inline-level first child of a block container |
| Inherited | no |
| Computed value | as specified |
| Animation type | by computed value type |
Formal syntax
initial-letter =
normal |
<number [1,∞]> <integer [1,∞]> |
<number [1,∞]> && [ drop | raise ]?
<integer> =
<number-token>
Examples
Setting initial letter size
HTML
html
<p class="normal">Initial letter is normal</p>
<p class="onefive">Initial letter occupies 1.5 lines</p>
<p class="three">Initial letter occupies 3 lines</p>
CSS
css
.normal::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: normal;
initial-letter: normal;
}
.onefive::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: 1.5;
initial-letter: 1.5;
}
.three::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: 3;
initial-letter: 3;
}
p {
outline: 1px dashed red;
}
Result
Setting the sink value
In this example, all the initial letters are the same size, but with different sink values.
HTML
html
<p class="four">Initial letter: Sink value = 4</p>
<p class="same">Initial letter: Sink value not declared (same as size)</p>
<p class="two">Initial letter: Sink value = 2</p>
<p class="one">Initial letter: Sink value = 1</p>
CSS
css
.four::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: 3 4;
initial-letter: 3 4;
}
.same::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: 3;
initial-letter: 3;
}
.two::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: 3 2;
initial-letter: 3 2;
}
.one::first-letter {
-webkit-initial-letter: 3 1;
initial-letter: 3 1;
}
p {
outline: 1px dashed red;
}
Result
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| CSS Inline Layout Module Level 3 # sizing-drop-initials |
Browser compatibility
| desktop | mobile | |||||||||||
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Legend
Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.
- Full support
- Full support
- Partial support
- Partial support
- No support
- No support
- See implementation notes.
- Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.
See also
::first-letter:first-child- Drop caps in CSS via Oddbird (2017)