How do I inline the :before element when unable to include a CSS/style section?

Question

I'm looking to style a li element, and would like to modify this CSS property:

li:before {
    color: blue; 
}

However, I am restricted to only using html, inline, styling. I don't have access to the section of the document I'm working on.

Is what I am trying to do, doable, and, if so, how?

You can't simulate selectors using the `style` attribute - the selector is irrelevant, the styles apply to the element that the attribute is on. — Adrian, May 02 '13 at 19:20

Troy Alford · Answer 1 · 2020-02-12T23:04:36.507

7

You can insert a new stylesheet inline with the following HTML:

<style>
  li:before { color: red; }
</style>

The reason this is the only way to do it is that :before is a pseudo-element, meaning that it doesn't actually become part of the DOM. Unfortunately, this means there is no way to style it inline, as requested.

As an example:

<li style="color: red;">text</li>

would style the entire LI element, not just it's :before pseudo-element, and because the :before element has no markup, it can not have it's own style= property.

edited Feb 12 '20 at 23:04

answered May 02 '13 at 19:19

Troy Alford

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[` – zzzzBov May 02 '13 at 19:26
While Zzz is right, I commonly see – Sean May 02 '13 at 20:30
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@smclark89: yes - my point was not that it is a *good* way to solve the problem, but given the fairly stark restrictions provided by the OP, it seems necessary. – Troy Alford May 02 '13 at 23:10
The `scoped` attribute has been removed from all browser support. Including it in this answer will create more confusion than help. – Pluto Feb 12 '20 at 19:13
Yes, good point - thank you for the reminder to update this answer. I'll do so shortly. – Troy Alford Feb 12 '20 at 23:03

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

2

In CSS, inline styles take precedence over linked CSS files, so you could do something like this with your li elements:-

<li style="color: red;">This is a list item</li>

And it would take precedence over either a linked stylesheet, or an internal stylesheet.

If you're wanting to use more complex selectors, you're out of luck unfortunately.

See: CSS Pseudo-classes with inline styles

edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

Community

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answered May 02 '13 at 19:22

Mat Richardson

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Except that applies to the whole element and not just the `:before` pseudo-element. That said, pseudo-element styles cannot be expressed in inline style attributes, for the reason stated in Adrian's comment. – BoltClock May 02 '13 at 19:23
Good point. In that case, what is being asked isn't possible http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5293280/css-pseudo-classes-with-inline-styles – Mat Richardson May 02 '13 at 19:24
@Mat sounds like your comment is the correct answer. Please post so I can accept. – blueberryfields May 02 '13 at 19:35
I've added some text to explain – Mat Richardson May 02 '13 at 19:38

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered May 02 '13 at 19:42

1

You can add:

<style scoped>
    li:before {
        color: red;
    }
</style>

Anywhere as a direct child of the <body> element and it will apply to the whole page, while also being valid HTML5.

answered May 02 '13 at 19:42

zzzzBov

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How do I inline the :before element when unable to include a CSS/style section?

3 Answers3