initial-letter

Experimental: This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The initial-letter CSS property sets styling for dropped, raised, and sunken initial letters.

Syntax

css

/* Keyword values */
initial-letter: normal;

/* Numeric values */
initial-letter: 1.5; /* Initial letter occupies 1.5 lines */
initial-letter: 3; /* Initial letter occupies 3 lines */
initial-letter: 3 2; /* Initial letter occupies 3 lines and
                           sinks 2 lines */

/* Global values */
initial-letter: inherit;
initial-letter: initial;
initial-letter: revert;
initial-letter: revert-layer;
initial-letter: unset;

The keyword value normal, or a <number> optionally followed by an <integer>.

Values

normal: No special initial-letter effect. Text behaves as normal.
<number>: Defines the size of the initial letter, in terms of how many lines it occupies. Negative values are not allowed.
<integer>: Defines the number of lines the initial letter should sink when the size of it is given. Values must be greater than zero. If omitted, it duplicates the size value, floored to the nearest positive whole number.

Formal definition

Initial value	`normal`
Applies to	`::first-letter` pseudo-elements and inline-level first child of a block container
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	by computed value type

Formal syntax

initial-letter = 
  normal                               |
  <number [1,∞]> <integer [1,∞]>       |
  <number [1,∞]> && [ drop | raise ]?

Examples

Setting initial letter size

HTML

html

<p class="normal">Initial letter is normal</p>
<p class="onefive">Initial letter occupies 1.5 lines</p>
<p class="three">Initial letter occupies 3 lines</p>

CSS

css

.normal::first-letter {
  -webkit-initial-letter: normal;
  initial-letter: normal;
}

.onefive::first-letter {
  -webkit-initial-letter: 1.5;
  initial-letter: 1.5;
}

.three::first-letter {
  -webkit-initial-letter: 3;
  initial-letter: 3;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Inline Layout Module Level 3 # sizing-drop-initials

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	WebView Android	Chrome Android	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	Safari on IOS	Samsung Internet
`initial-letter`	110	110	No	No	96	9 See bug 229090 for the unprefixed property.	110	110	No	74	9 See bug 229090 for the unprefixed property.	21.0

Docs

Docs4dev

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