white-space

Summary

The white-space property is used to describe how whitespace inside the element is handled.

Initial value	`normal`
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	yes
Media	visual
Computed value	as specified
Animatable	no
Canonical order	the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
white-space: normal;
white-space: nowrap;
white-space: pre;
white-space: pre-wrap;
white-space: pre-line;

/* Global values */
white-space: inherit;
white-space: initial;
white-space: unset;

Values

normal: Sequences of whitespace are collapsed. Newline characters in the source are handled as other whitespace. Breaks lines as necessary to fill line boxes.
nowrap: Collapses whitespace as for normal, but suppresses line breaks (text wrapping) within text.
pre: Sequences of whitespace are preserved, lines are only broken at newline characters in the source and at <br> elements.
pre-wrap: Sequences of whitespace are preserved. Lines are broken at newline characters, at <br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes.
pre-line: Sequences of whitespace are collapsed. Lines are broken at newline characters, at <br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes.

The following table summarizes the behavior of various white-space values:

	New lines	Spaces and tabs	Text wrapping
`normal`	Collapse	Collapse	Wrap
`nowrap`	Collapse	Collapse	No wrap
`pre`	Preserve	Preserve	No wrap
`pre-wrap`	Preserve	Preserve	Wrap
`pre-line`	Preserve	Collapse	Wrap

Formal syntax

normal | pre | nowrap | pre-wrap | pre-line

Examples

Basic example

code { 
  white-space: pre; 
}

Line breaks inside `<pre>` elements

pre {
  word-wrap: break-word;      /* IE 5.5-7 */
  white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; /* Firefox 1.0-2.0 */
  white-space: pre-wrap;      /* current browsers */
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Text Level 3 The definition of 'white-space' in that specification.	Working Draft	Precises the breaking algorithms.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'white-space' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition

Feature	Chrome	Firefox (Gecko)	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari (WebKit)
Basic support (`normal` and `nowrap`)	1.0	1.0 (1.7 or earlier)	5.5^[1]	4.0	1.0 (85)
`pre`	1.0	1.0	6.0	4.0	1.0 (85)
`pre-wrap`	1.0	1.0 (1.7 or earlier)-moz 3.0 (1.9)	8.0	8.0	3.0 (522)
`pre-line`	1.0	3.5 (1.9.1)	8.0	9.5	3.0 (522)
Support on `<textarea>`	1.0	36 (36)	5.5	4.0	1.0 (85)

Feature	Android	Firefox Mobile (Gecko)	IE Phone	Opera Mobile	Safari Mobile
Basic support	?	?	?	?	?

[1] Internet Explorer 5.5+ supports word-wrap: break-word;.