Document.vlinkColor is a deprecated instance property that gets or sets the color of visited links in the document. Learn what visited links are, how it fits with legacy linkColor and alinkColor, the modern :visited CSS replacement, and five examples with try-it labs.
Instance property
string color
Deprecated
Visited link
CSS :visited
link / alink
Browsers remember which links you have opened. A visited link is a hyperlink whose destination URL is already in the user’s browsing history for this site. Visited links often appear in a different color—traditionally purple.
MDN: the vlinkColor property gets/sets the color of links that the user has visited in the document. Like other legacy Document color properties, it comes from the early HTML era when pages styled links globally from JavaScript or <body vlink="..."> attributes.
Study vlinkColor so you can recognize legacy scripts and old tutorials. For new pages, style visited links with CSS: a:visited { color: ... } alongside :link, :hover, and :active.
Related Document tutorials: linkColor, alinkColor, links, Document constructor.
Document.vlinkColorA getter/setter instance property on Document. Reading it returns the visited-link color string; writing it changes the color applied to visited links in the document body.
purple, darkviolet) or hex (#551a8b).null — assigning null converts to "" (empty string, MDN).#551a8b) in Mozilla Firefox.a:visited { color: ... } instead.document.vlinkColorconsole.log(document.vlinkColor);
// e.g. "#551a8b" in Firefox (MDN default)document.vlinkColor = "purple";
document.vlinkColor = "#551a8b";
document.vlinkColor = null; // becomes ""| Goal | Code / note |
|---|---|
| Read visited color | document.vlinkColor |
| Set named color | document.vlinkColor = "purple" |
| Firefox default (MDN) | #551a8b |
| Clear (legacy) | document.vlinkColor = null → "" |
| Modern replacement | a:visited { color: ... } |
| MDN status | Deprecated |
Four facts about document.vlinkColor.
stringColor value
visitedAlready opened
deprecatedLegacy API
:visitedModern fix
vlinkColor vs a:visiteddocument.vlinkColor | a:visited { color: ... } | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Document-wide legacy hook | Per-stylesheet CSS rule |
| Recommended? | No | Yes |
| MDN status | Deprecated | Standard CSS |
| Best for | Reading old code | All new styling |
Examples follow MDN Document: vlinkColor. Open try-it labs to see visited-link colors where the property still applies.
Read and set the deprecated visited-link color.
document.vlinkColorLog the current visited-link color (browser-dependent).
console.log(document.vlinkColor);
// Firefox default (MDN): "#551a8b"
// Other browsers may differ or ignore the property in practiceThe returned string may be a hex code or color name depending on how the browser stores it.
"purple" for Visited LinksAssign a named color for links the user has already opened.
document.vlinkColor = "purple";
console.log(document.vlinkColor);
// Visited links appear purple where the property is honoredOnly links in the visited state use this color. Unvisited links still follow linkColor or CSS :link.
Other assignment forms and the recommended replacement.
#551a8bMDN’s documented default purple in hexadecimal form.
document.vlinkColor = "#551a8b";
console.log(document.vlinkColor);This is the classic “visited link purple” from early web design. CSS :visited is the modern equivalent.
null Becomes Empty StringMDN: assigning null is equivalent to assigning "".
document.vlinkColor = null;
console.log(document.vlinkColor === "");
console.log(JSON.stringify(document.vlinkColor));Legacy Document color properties share this null-to-empty-string quirk (MDN).
:visitedStyle visited links with standard CSS instead of vlinkColor.
a:link { color: #2563eb; }
a:visited { color: #551a8b; }
a:active { color: #dc2626; }MDN’s recommended alternative. Works in all modern browsers and fits design systems.
vlinkColor assignments and replace with CSS.:visited in stylesheets instead.Unvisited links use linkColor or CSS :link.
Browser marks the URL as visited in history.
vlinkColor appliesVisited links render with the Document visited color (legacy).
:visitedMDN recommends pseudo-classes on <a> instead of Document properties.
:visited.#551a8b (MDN).document.vlinkColor = null becomes "" (MDN).:visited.Document.vlinkColor is deprecated but may still exist for compatibility in some browsers. MDN recommends CSS :visited instead. Logos use the shared browser-image-sprite.png sprite from this project.
Legacy visited-link color getter/setter — use CSS :visited in new code.
Bottom line: Recognize vlinkColor in old scripts. For new styling, use a:link, a:visited, a:hover, and a:active in CSS — never document.vlinkColor.
Document.vlinkColor is a deprecated way to control the color of visited links in a document. It is useful for understanding legacy pages and migrating them to CSS—not for new features.
Continue with links, linkColor, alinkColor, or the JavaScript hub.
a:visited { color: ... }vlinkColor when updating legacy filesdocument.vlinkColor in new production code:visited with properties browsers block for privacyvlinkColor for accessibility contrastvlinkColorDeprecated visited-link color — prefer CSS :visited.
string color
APIdeprecated
Legacyvisited
Statea:visited
CSS#551a8b
MDNThe “v” in vlinkColor stands for visited. It paired with linkColor (unvisited) and alinkColor (active) on the old <body link="" vlink="" alink=""> attributes—all replaced today by CSS pseudo-classes.
Learn the live HTMLCollection of every hyperlink with an href.
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