Summary
An asterisk (*
) is the universal selector for CSS. It matches a single element of any type. Omitting the asterisk with simple selectors has the same effect. For instance, *.warning
and .warning
are considered equal.
In CSS 3, the asterisk may be used in combination with namespaces:
ns|*
- matches all elements in namespace ns*|*
- matches all elements|*
- matches all elements without any declared namespace
Examples
* [lang^=en] {
color:green;
}
*.warning {
color:red;
}
*#maincontent {
border: 1px solid blue;
}
<p class="warning">
<span lang="en-us">A green span</span> in a red paragraph.
</p>
<p id="maincontent" lang="en-gb">
<span class="warning">A red span</span> in a green paragraph.
</p>
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
Selectors Level 4 The definition of 'universal selector' in that specification. |
Working Draft | No changes |
Selectors Level 3 The definition of 'universal selector' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Defined behavior in regard of namespaces and added hint that omitting the selector is allowed within pseudo-elements |
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'universal selector' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition |
Browser compatibility
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teoli,
Sebastianz,
cvrebert,
xiaolong,
bignell,
MusikAnimal,
SphinxKnight,
FredB,
jswisher,
koroliov,
Sheppy,
tregagnon,
nimbupani,
Miken32,
Montehansen,
BijuGC
Last updated by:
teoli,