CSS

white-space

Property

Example

Demonstrate different values of the white-space property:

p.a {
  white-space: nowrap;
}

p.b {
  white-space: normal;
}

p.c {
  white-space:
pre;
}

Try it Yourself »

Definition and Usage

The white-space property specifies how white-space inside an element is handled.

Show demo ❯

Default value:
normal

Inherited:
yes

Animatable:
no. Read about animatable

Version:
CSS1

JavaScript syntax:
object.style.whiteSpace=”nowrap”
Try it

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.

Property

white-space
1.0
8.0
3.5
3.0
9.5

CSS Syntax

white-space: normal|nowrap|pre|pre-line|pre-wrap|initial|inherit;

Property Values

Value
Description
Demo

normal
Sequences of whitespace will collapse into a single whitespace. Text will wrap when necessary. This is default
Demo ❯

nowrap
Sequences of whitespace will collapse into a single whitespace. Text will never wrap to the next line. The text continues on the same line until
a <br> tag is encountered
Demo ❯

pre
Whitespace is preserved by the browser. Text will only wrap on line breaks. Acts like the
<pre> tag in HTML
Demo ❯

pre-line
Sequences of whitespace will collapse into a single whitespace. Text will wrap when necessary, and on line breaks
Demo ❯

pre-wrap
Whitespace is preserved by the browser. Text will wrap when necessary, and on line breaks
Demo ❯

initial
Sets this property to its default value. Read about initial

inherit
Inherits this property from its parent element. Read about inherit

Related Pages

CSS tutorial: CSS Text Spacing

HTML DOM reference: whiteSpace property