white-space-collapse
Baseline 2024
Newly available
Since March 2024, this feature works across the latest devices and browser versions. This feature might not work in older devices or browsers.
The white-space-collapse
CSS property controls how white space inside an element is collapsed.
Note:
The white-space-collapse
and text-wrap
properties can be declared together using the white-space
shorthand property.
Syntax
/* Keyword values */
white-space-collapse: collapse;
white-space-collapse: preserve;
white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;
white-space-collapse: preserve-spaces;
white-space-collapse: break-spaces;
/* Global values */
white-space-collapse: inherit;
white-space-collapse: initial;
white-space-collapse: revert;
white-space-collapse: revert-layer;
white-space-collapse: unset;
The white-space-collapse
property is specified as a single keyword chosen from the list of values below.
Values
collapse
-
White space sequences are collapsed.
preserve
-
White space sequences and segment break characters are preserved.
preserve-breaks
-
White space sequences are collapsed, while segment break characters are preserved.
preserve-spaces
-
White space sequences are preserved, while tabs and segment break characters are converted to spaces.
break-spaces
-
The behavior is identical to
preserve
, except that:- Any sequence of preserved white space always takes up space, including at the end of the line.
- A line-breaking opportunity exists after every preserved white space character, including between white space characters.
- Preserved spaces take up space and do not hang, thus affecting the box's intrinsic sizes (
min-content
size andmax-content
size).
Note: Segment break characters are characters such as line feeds that cause text to break onto new lines.
Collapsing of white space
User agents handle white space collapsing as follows:
- Tabs are generally converted to spaces.
- If segment breaks are to be collapsed:
- Sequences of segment breaks are collapsed down to a single segment break.
- They are converted to spaces in the case of languages that separate words with spaces (like English), or removed altogether in the case of languages that do not separate words with spaces (like Chinese).
- If spaces are to be collapsed:
- Spaces or tabs before or after segment breaks are removed.
- Sequences of spaces are converted, or "collapsed", to a single space.
- When spaces are preserved, sequences of spaces are treated as non-breaking except that they will soft-wrap at the end of each sequence — i.e. the next line will always start with the next non-space character. In the case of the
break-spaces
value however, a soft wrap could potentially occur after each space, so the next line may start with one or more spaces.
Formal definition
Initial value | collapse |
---|---|
Applies to | all elements |
Inherited | yes |
Computed value | as specified |
Animation type | discrete |
Formal syntax
Examples
HTML
<h2 class="collapse">Default behavior;
all whitespace is collapsed
in the heading .</h2>
<h2 class="preserve">In this case
all whitespace is preserved
in the heading .</h2>
<h2 class="preserve-breaks">In this case only
the line breaks are preserved
in the heading .</h2>
CSS
.collapse {
white-space-collapse: collapse;
}
.preserve {
white-space-collapse: preserve;
}
.preserve-breaks {
white-space-collapse: preserve-breaks;
}
h2 {
font-size: 1.6rem;
font-family: monospace;
}
Result
Specifications
Specification |
---|
CSS Text Module Level 4 # white-space-collapsing |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
- Shorthand for
white-space-collapse
andtext-wrap
: Thewhite-space
property. - CSS text module