Get your containers right with CSS!

I've been beating my head against the wall (proverbially, at least) with what should be a simple CSS style issue: I want to change the color and style of some text links on a Web page. I've been trying this:

<style type="text/css">
.bl              { color: #000; font-weight:900 }
.bl a:link       { color: #0f0; }
.bl a:visited    { color: #00f; }
.bl a:hover      { color: #000; background-color: #ff6 }
</style>

<a href="uses.shtml" class="bl">Google Adwords and Overture</a>

but it wasn't working.

Dave's Answer:

Finally it dawned on me: the "anchor container" can't accept all CSS styles, so a quick change to this:

<span class="bl"><a href="uses.shtml">Google Adwords and Overture</a></span>

and *poof* it's all working properly.

The moral of this story: make sure that the containers you're using can accept the styles you're specifying.

Note that you can always pop over to W3C (aka the World Wide Web Consortium) and read the official CSS specification documents too, if you're so inclined.

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Categorized: HTML, JavaScript and Web Site Programming (Article 3722, Written by Dave Taylor)
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Reader Comments To Date: 1

Mark said, on June 28, 2005 12:30 AM:

Isn't it because of the way the CSS is written? The given code says "take anchors _within_ an element of class 'bl' and set the given properties." If this code is this:

a.bl { color: #000; font-weight:900 }
a.bl:link { color: #0f0; }
a.bl:visited { color: #00f; }
a.bl:hover { color: #000; background-color: #ff6 }

It should work, no? Now it says "take anchors of class 'bl' and set the given properties."

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

Get your containers right with CSS!

Reader Comments To Date: 1

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

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