The <string>
CSS data type represents a sequence of characters. Strings are used in numerous CSS properties, such as content
, font-family
, and quotes
.
The <string>
data type is composed of any number of Unicode characters surrounded by either double ("
) or single ('
) quotes.
Most characters can be represented literally. All characters can also be represented with their respective Unicode code points in hexadecimal, in which case they are preceded by a backslash (\
). For example, \22
represents a double quote, \27
a single quote ('
), and \A9
the copyright symbol (©
).
Importantly, certain characters which would otherwise be invalid can be escaped with a backslash. These include double quotes when used inside a double-quoted string, single quotes when used inside a single-quoted string, and the backslash itself. For example, \\
will create a single backslash.
To output new lines, you must escape them with a line feed character such as \A
or \00000A
. In your code, however, strings can span multiple lines, in which case each new line must be escaped with a \
as the last character of the line.
Note: HTML entities (such as
or —
) cannot be used in a CSS <string>
.
/* Simple strings */ "This string is demarkated by double quotes." 'This string is demarkated by single quotes.' /* Character escaping */ "This is a string with \" an escaped double quote." "This string also has \22 an escaped double quote." 'This is a string with \' an escaped single quote.' 'This string also has \27 an escaped single quote.' "This is a string with \\ an escaped backslash." /* New line in a string */ "This string has a \Aline break in it." /* String spanning two lines of code (these two strings will have identical output) */ "A really long \ awesome string" "A really long awesome string"
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
CSS Values and Units Module Level 3 The definition of '<string>' in that specification. | Candidate Recommendation | No significant change from CSS Level 2 (Revision 1). |
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of '<string>' in that specification. | Recommendation | Explicit definition; allows 6-digit Unicode escaped characters. |
CSS Level 1 The definition of '<string>' in that specification. | Recommendation | Implicit definition; allows 4-digit Unicode escaped characters. |
Desktop | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari | |
Basic support | 1 | Yes | 1 | Yes | Yes | 1 |
Unicode escaped characters (\xx ) |
1 | Yes | 1 | 6 | Yes | 1 |
Mobile | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Android webview | Chrome for Android | Edge Mobile | Firefox for Android | Opera for Android | iOS Safari | Samsung Internet | |
Basic support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Unicode escaped characters (\xx ) |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/string