CSS :first-line pseudo-element

Definition

The :first-line pseudo-element adds a special style to the first line of a text.

Examples

The "first-line" pseudo-element is used to add special styles to the first line of the text in a selector:

p {font-size: 12pt} p:first-line {color: #FF0000;font-variant: small-caps} <p>Some text that ends up on two  or more lines</p>

The output could be something like this:

Some text that ends up on two or more lines

In the example above the browser displays the first line formatted according to the "first-line" pseudo element. Where the browser breaks the line depends on the size of the browser window.
Note: The "first-line" pseudo-element can only be used with block-level elements.
Note: The following properties apply to the "first-line" pseudo-element:

• font properties
• color properties 
• background properties
• word-spacing
• letter-spacing
• text-decoration
• vertical-align
• text-transform
• line-height
• clear

Pseudo-elements can also be combined with CSS classes:

p.article:first-line {color: #FF0000} <p class="article">A paragraph in an article</p>

The example above will set the first line of all paragraphs with class="article" to red.
 
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