More "Try it Yourself" examples below.
Definition and Usage
The :active selector is used to select and style the active link.
A link becomes active when you click on it.
Tip: The :active selector can be used on all elements, not only links.
Tip: Use the :link selector to style links to unvisited pages, the :visited selector to style links to visited pages, and the :hover selector to style links when you mouse over them.
Note: :active MUST come after :hover (if present) in the CSS definition in order to be effective!
| Version: | CSS1 |
|---|
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specifies the first browser version that fully supports the selector.
| Selector | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :active | 4.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 9.6 |
Note: IE8 and newer versions support the :active selector on all elements. IE7 only supports the :active selector on links.
CSS Syntax
:active {
css declarations;
}
More Examples
Example
Select and style a <p>, <h1> and <a> element when you click on it:
p:active, h1:active, a:active {
background-color: yellow;
}
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Example
Select and style unvisited, visited, hover, and active links:
/* unvisited link */
a:link {
color: green;
}
/* visited link */
a:visited {
color: green;
}
/* mouse over
link */
a:hover {
color: red;
}
/*
selected link */
a:active {
color: yellow;
}
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Example
Style links with different styles:
a.ex1:hover, a.ex1:active {
color: red;
}
a.ex2:hover, a.ex2:active {
font-size: 150%;
}
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Related Pages
CSS tutorial: CSS Links
CSS tutorial: CSS Pseudo classes