CSS outline-width Property

Posted in CSS Tutorial

Updated on Jul 25, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 8 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

The outline-width property in CSS is used to define the thickness of the outline of an element. Unlike borders, outlines do not take up space in the layout and are drawn outside the element's border edge.

This property is useful for highlighting elements, creating focus states, or adding visual emphasis to specific parts of a webpage.

💡 Syntax

The syntax for the outline-width property is simple and can be used with various values to control the thickness of the outline.

Syntax

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element {
  outline-width: width;
}

Here, width specifies the thickness of the outline and can be one of the following values.

🎛️ Default Value

The default value of the outline-width property is medium, which is a browser-defined width that varies between browsers but is generally considered a standard medium thickness.

🏠 Property Values

Value	Description
thin	A thin outline. The exact width is defined by the browser.
medium	A medium outline. The exact width is defined by the browser.
thick	A thick outline. The exact width is defined by the browser.
length	A specific width defined using units such as px, em, rem, etc. For example, 2px or 0.1em.

📄 Example

In this example, we'll set the outline width of a button to thick.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS outline-width Example</title>
  <style>
    button {
      outline: solid black;
      outline-width: thick;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Button with Custom Outline Width</h1>
  <button>Click Me</button>
</body>
</html>

Example with Specific Length

In this example, we'll set the outline width of an input field to 3px.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS outline-width Example</title>
  <style>
    input[type="text"] {
      outline: dashed blue;
      outline-width: 3px;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Input Field with Custom Outline Width</h1>
  <input type="text" placeholder="Type something...">
</body>
</html>

🖥️ Browser Compatibility

The outline-width property is well-supported in all modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera. This makes it a reliable choice for styling outlines consistently across different platforms.

🎉 Conclusion

The outline-width property provides a simple and effective way to control the thickness of outlines on elements.

By using this property, you can enhance the visual emphasis of your webpage elements, making them more noticeable or helping to create a cohesive design. Experiment with different values to find the perfect thickness for your design needs.