CSS

:active

Selector

Example

Select and style the active link:

a:active
{
 
background-color: yellow;
}

Try it Yourself »

More “Try it Yourself” examples below.

Definition and Usage

The :active selector is used to select and style the active link.

A link becomes active when you click on it.

Tip: The :active selector can be used on all elements, not
only links.

Tip: Use the :link selector to style links to
unvisited pages, the :visited selector to style
links to visited pages, and the
:hover selector to style links when you mouse over
them.

Note: :active MUST come after :hover (if present) in the CSS
definition in order to be effective!

Version:
CSS1

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specifies the first browser version that fully supports the selector.

Selector

:active
4.0
7.0
2.0
3.1
9.6

CSS Syntax

:active {
  css declarations;
}

More Examples

Example

Select and style a <p>, <h1> and <a> element when you click on it:

p:active, h1:active, a:active {
  background-color: yellow;
}

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Example

Select and style unvisited, visited, hover, and active links:

/* unvisited link */
a:link {
  color: green;
}

/* visited link */
a:visited {
  color: green;
}

/* mouse over link */
a:hover {
  color: red;
}

/* selected link */
a:active {
  color: yellow;
}

Try it Yourself »

Example

Style links with different styles:

a.ex1:hover, a.ex1:active {
  color: red;
}

a.ex2:hover, a.ex2:active {
  font-size: 150%;
}

Try it Yourself »

Related Pages

CSS tutorial: CSS Links

CSS tutorial: CSS Pseudo classes