font-width

[!NOTE] The font-width descriptor is the modern replacement for the {{cssxref("@font-face/font-stretch")}} descriptor, which is a legacy alias. While font-width is the specification's preferred name, font-stretch currently has broader browser support. Check the fallback example and browser compatibility table for details.

The font-width CSS descriptor allows authors to specify a normal, condensed, or expanded face for the fonts specified in the {{cssxref("@font-face")}} at-rule.

For a particular font family, authors can download various font faces corresponding to the different styles of the same font family, and then use the font-width descriptor to specify the font face's width explicitly. The available font-width descriptor values are the same as those of the corresponding {{cssxref("font-width")}} property.

Syntax

css

/* Single values */
font-width: ultra-condensed;
font-width: extra-condensed;
font-width: condensed;
font-width: semi-condensed;
font-width: normal;
font-width: semi-expanded;
font-width: expanded;
font-width: extra-expanded;
font-width: ultra-expanded;
font-width: 50%;
font-width: 100%;
font-width: 200%;

/* Multiple values */
font-width: 75% 125%;
font-width: condensed ultra-condensed;

The font-width descriptor can take a single value from the list below.

Values

normal
- : Specifies a normally condensed font face.
semi-condensed, condensed, extra-condensed, ultra-condensed
- : Specifies a more condensed font face than normal, with ultra-condensed being the most condensed.
semi-expanded, expanded, extra-expanded, ultra-expanded
- : Specifies a more expanded font face than normal, with ultra-expanded being the most expanded.
<percentage>
- : A {{cssxref("<percentage>")}} value between 50% and 200% (inclusive). Negative values are not allowed for this descriptor.

In earlier versions of the font-width specification, the descriptor accepts only the nine keyword values. CSS Fonts Level 4 extends the syntax to accept a <percentage> value as well. This enables variable fonts to offer a continuous variation of character widths. For TrueType or OpenType variable fonts, the wdth variation is used to implement varying widths.

If the font does not provide a face that exactly matches the given value, then values less than 100% map to a condensed face, and values greater than or equal to 100% map to an expanded face.

Keyword to numeric mapping

The table below shows the mapping between keyword values and numeric percentages:

<table class="fullwidth-table standard-table"> <thead> <tr> <th scope="col">Keyword</th> <th scope="col">Percentage</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><code>ultra-condensed</code></td> <td>50%</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>extra-condensed</code></td> <td>62.5%</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>condensed</code></td> <td>75%</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>semi-condensed</code></td> <td>87.5%</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>normal</code></td> <td>100%</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>semi-expanded</code></td> <td>112.5%</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>expanded</code></td> <td>125%</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>extra-expanded</code></td> <td>150%</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>ultra-expanded</code></td> <td>200%</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Variable fonts

Most fonts have a particular width that corresponds to one of the keyterm values. However, variable fonts can support a range of widths with fine granularity, giving the designer a greater degree of control over the chosen weight. For this, percentage ranges are useful.

For TrueType or OpenType variable fonts, the wdth variation is used to implement varying glyph widths.

Accessibility

People with dyslexia and other cognitive conditions may have difficulty reading fonts that are too condensed, especially if the font has a low color contrast ratio.

Formal definition

Formal syntax

Examples

Setting a percentage range for font-width

The following example uses the League Mono font. It synthesizes different font families from the same font file using the font-width descriptor with different keywords and percentages.

html

<p>League Mono</p>
<p>League Mono</p>
<p>League Mono</p>

css

@font-face {
  font-family: "League Mono Ultra Condensed";
  src: url("/shared-assets/fonts/LeagueMono-VF.ttf") format("truetype");
  font-width: ultra-condensed; /* same as 50% */
}

@font-face {
  font-family: "League Mono Normal";
  src: url("/shared-assets/fonts/LeagueMono-VF.ttf") format("truetype");
  font-width: 100%; /* same as normal */
}

@font-face {
  font-family: "League Mono Ultra Expanded";
  src: url("/shared-assets/fonts/LeagueMono-VF.ttf") format("truetype");
  font-width: ultra-expanded; /* same as 200% */
}

p:nth-child(1) {
  font-family: "League Mono Ultra Condensed", sans-serif;
}

p:nth-child(2) {
  font-family: "League Mono Normal", sans-serif;
}

p:nth-child(3) {
  font-family: "League Mono Ultra Expanded", sans-serif;
}

{{EmbedLiveSample("Setting font width percentages", "100%", 200)}}

Providing a font-stretch fallback

Because font-width does not yet have broad browser support, you may want to include the legacy {{cssxref("@font-face/font-stretch")}} descriptor as a fallback. Place font-stretch before font-width so that supporting browsers use the modern descriptor:

css

@font-face {
  font-family: "MyFont";
  src: url("my-font.woff2") format("woff2");
  font-stretch: condensed; /* for browsers that don't support font-width */
  font-width: condensed;
}

[!NOTE] You can automate this fallback pattern using the postcss-preset-env plugin for PostCSS, which includes the postcss-font-width-property transform to convert font-width declarations to font-stretch automatically.