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Attribute selectors are a powerful tool in CSS that allow you to target specific elements based on their attributes. They're particularly useful for styling links, and we've seen how to use them to target links with specific classes in our previous examples.
The attribute selector syntax is quite straightforward, and it allows you to target elements based on the presence or value of a particular attribute. For instance, we can use the `[href]` selector to target all links, regardless of their href attribute value.
You can also use the `[href^="https"]` selector to target links with an href attribute that starts with "https". This is useful for styling external links, for example.
For more insights, see: Css Selector That Targets a Specific Property Declaration
What is an Attribute Selector?
An attribute selector is a way to select HTML elements based on their attributes, like the href attribute in a hyperlink.
You can use an attribute selector to target specific elements, like the first a element in an HTML example that has an href attribute.
The attribute selector is made up of [attrName], where you write the name of the attribute to target inside the square brackets.
Additional reading: Css Selector the Last 2 Child Elements
Definition
An attribute selector is a way to select HTML elements based on their attributes, such as class, id, or data attributes. This allows you to target specific elements on a webpage.
Attribute selectors can be used to select elements based on their attribute values, like selecting all elements with a class of "header". Attribute selectors can also be used to select elements based on the absence of an attribute, like selecting all elements without an ID.
Attribute selectors are often used in CSS to style specific elements on a webpage, but they can also be used in other programming languages like JavaScript.
For more insights, see: Css Selector Id
Core Meaning of Attribute Selector
An attribute selector is a CSS selector that allows you to target HTML elements based on their attributes.
It's used to select elements with specific attributes, such as the href attribute in the example from the article. The attribute selector is written inside square brackets, like this: [attrName].
Curious to learn more? Check out: Css Selector Multiple Attributes
You can use attribute selectors to target elements with specific attribute values, like the second a element with a name attribute.
The attribute selector will always be wrapped in [] brackets and will always sit right next to the element to which it applies, without any spaces in-between.
In the example from the article, the attribute selector [href$=".pdf"] is used to target hyperlinks ending with the file format .pdf.
A unique perspective: How to Find Css Selector
Types of Attribute Selectors
You can target specific types of documents by using the $= selector in your CSS attribute selector.
To target PDF documents, simply change the value to .pdf. For example, to target Microsoft Word documents, change the value to .doc.
You can also use the $= selector to target other types of documents just by changing the value to their respective file extensions.
Examples
Attribute selectors are a powerful tool in CSS, allowing you to target specific elements based on their attributes.
The [attribute] selector targets elements with a specific attribute, such as the [href] attribute used to link to external websites.
The [attribute="value"] selector targets elements with a specific attribute value, like the [href="https://www.example.com"] selector for links to a specific website.
The [attribute~="value"] selector targets elements with an attribute value that contains a specific word, such as the [class~="btn"] selector for elements with a class containing the word "btn".
The [attribute|="value"] selector targets elements with an attribute value that starts with a specific prefix, like the [lang|="en"] selector for elements with a language attribute starting with "en".
Attribute Ends With
You can select HTML elements based on what an attribute value ends with by using the $= selector. This is done by placing $= between the attribute name and attribute value in the CSS rule.
To target a specific file format, simply replace the value with the desired file extension. For example, to target PDF documents, you would use .pdf, and to target Microsoft Word documents, you would use .doc.
The $= selector is used in conjunction with the attribute name, which in this case is href. This selector will only target hyperlinks ending with the specified file format value.
Using the $= selector, you can style each link differently based on the ending of their href attribute. This can be seen in an example where links to different file types are styled with different icons using CSS.
Visited, Hover, Active
The a element has four different states, each with its own pseudo class. There's a:link, which selects all links that have not yet been visited.
To better understand the different states, let's take a look at the table below:
As you can see, the a:active pseudo class is only applied for a short time, from when a user clicks a link until the browser loads the new page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CSS selector for href contains?
The CSS selector for selecting elements where the href attribute contains a specified string is [href*=val]. This selector is useful for targeting hyperlinks with specific URLs or domains.
How do I align a href in CSS?
To center an anchor link, use "margin: 0 auto" on the container and "text-align: center" on the button. This simple CSS trick creates a centered link that looks like a button.
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