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CSS Styles

windowsforms-403399-common-features-html-css-based-desktop-ui-css-styles.md

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CSS Styles

  • Nov 05, 2025
  • 23 minutes to read

DevExpress WinForms controls that support HTML and CSS-based UI design allow you to use a CSS-inspired technique to customize the control’s look and feel. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) allows you to specify how visual controls look when the HTML UI is rendered.

The simple HTML markup below defines two headers and text.

html
<h2>Chapter 1</h2>
Lorem ipsum
<h2>Chapter 2</h2>
dolor sit amet

When you assign this HTML template to the HtmlContentControl (from the HtmlContentControl.HtmlTemplate.Template property), the default UI rendering is as follows:

You can now use CSS to specify how the contents of all h2 tags should appear.

css
h2 {
    font-size: 14px;
    color: indigo;
    background-color: lavender;
}

Assign this CSS code to the HtmlContentControl.HtmlTemplate.Styles property to get the following output:

CSS Syntax

CSS defines style rules. Each rule consists of a selector and a declaration block, and has the following syntax:

  • Selector—Identifies an HTML element you want to style.
  • Declaration—Consists of one or more style-property : value pairs, which are to be applied to target elements. See the CSS Properties section for a list of supported style properties.

CSS Selectors

A CSS Selector allows you to refer to an element you want to style.

Simple Selectors

Tag Selector

Selects elements by an HTML tag.

css
tag {
    css declaration;
}

The following example selects div elements:

css
div {
    background-color: lightGray;
    width: 30px;
    overflow: hidden;
    text-overflow: ellipsis;
}

Class Selector

Selects elements that belong to the specified class. Use a period (.) character followed by the class name to specify a class selector.

css
.element-class {
    css declaration;
}

The following HTML markup defines a div element that belongs to the text-align-left class:

html
<div class="text-align-left">Text</div>

The CSS code below addresses this element by its class:

css
.text-align-left {
    text-decoration: line-through;
    text-align: left;
}

Id Selector

Selects an element with the specified unique identifier (id). Use a hash (#) character, followed by the element’s id, to specify an id selector.

css
#element-id {
    css declaration;
}

The following HTML code defines p elements that have different ids:

html
<p id="p-tools">Tools</p>
<p id="p-windows">Windows</p>

The CSS code below only addresses one p element:

css
#p-tools { font-size: 20px; }

Grouping Selector

Selects two or more elements. Separate individual selectors with a comma (,) to specify a grouping selector:

css
selector1, selector2, selector3 {
    css declaration;
}

selector1, selector2, and selector3 are individual selectors (tag, class, and id specifiers).

The following CSS code selects h2, h3, and h4 elements:

css
h2, h3, h4 { color: indigo; }

State Selectors

State selectors allow you to refer to elements that have a specific state.

Focused State

Use the following syntax to select focused elements:

css
selector:focus {
    css declaration;
}

The selector is an individual selector (tag, class, or id specifier).

The following CSS code applies styles to elements of the “button” class when they are focused:

css
.button:focus {
    background-color: black;
}

The styles specified by the :focus selector are applied to a focusable element when it receives focus. Focusable elements are as follows:

  • An embedded editor. Use the input tag to embed editors in the HTML-based UI.
  • An HTML element that has the tabindex attribute specified.

A focusable element receives focus on a mouse click. You can also use the TAB/SHIFT+TAB key to navigate between focusable HTML elements.

If a user clicks a non-focusable element, the current control recursively searches for the item’s focusable parent and then focuses it.

Pressed State

Use the following syntax to select pressed elements:

css
selector:active {
    css declaration;
}

The selector here and in sections below is an individual selector (tag, class, or id specifier).

The following CSS code applies styles to elements of the “button” class when they are pressed:

css
.button:active {
    background-color: green;
}

Hovered State

Use the following syntax to select hovered elements:

css
selector:hover {
    css declaration;
}

The following code applies styles to elements of the “button” class when they are hovered over with the mouse:

css
.button:hover {
    border-radius: 4px;
    background-color: yellow;
}

Disabled State

Use the following syntax to select disabled elements:

css
selector:disabled {
    css declaration;
}

The following code applies styles to elements of the “button” class when they are disabled:

css
.button:disabled {
    opacity: 0.25;
    background-color: #00000000;
}

Selection

You can use the ::selection syntax to set up style settings for selected content.

css
::selection {
    background-color: @Warning;
}

.text::selection {
    background-color: @Warning;
}

See also: Content Selection.

Link

Use the following syntax to select elements that are non-visited hyperlinks:

css
selector:link {
    css declaration;
}

The following code applies styles to a elements if their links were not visited:

css
a:link {
    color: blue;
}

Visited Link

Use the following syntax to select elements that are visited hyperlinks:

css
selector:visited {
    css declaration;
}

The following code applies styles to a elements if their links were visited:

css
a:visited {
    color: red;
}

Relation Selectors

Descendant

Use the following syntax to select elements that are placed within other elements:

css
element1 element2 {
    css declaration;
}

The descendant selector locates element2 elements inside element1 elements.

The following example selects all p elements inside div elements:

css
div p {
    background-color: red;
}

Child

Use the following syntax to select children of a specific element:

css
parent-element > child-element {
    css declaration;
}

The following example selects all p elements that are children of div elements:

css
div > p {
    background-color: red;
}

Adjacent Sibling

Use the following syntax to select a sibling element that is immediately after another element:

css
immediate-sibling1 + immediate-sibling2 {
    css declaration;
}

The following example selects a p element placed immediately after its div sibling:

css
div + p {
    background-color: red;
}

Subsequent Sibling

Use the following syntax to select a sibling element that is after another element (not necessarily immediately).

css
sibling1 ~ sibling2 {
    css declaration;
}

The following example selects a p element that is a subsequent sibling of a div element (not necessarily immediately):

css
div ~ p {
    background-color: red;
}

CSS Properties

This section describes style properties supported for HTML-based UI design.

Text & Font

font CSS Property

A shorthand property for font-style, font-variant, font-weight, font-size/line-height, and font-family.

css
a {
  font: 15px Arial, sans-serif;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

font: font-style font-variant font-weight font-size/line-height font-family|caption|icon|menu|message-box|small-caption|status-bar|initial|inherit;

|

More information

font-family CSS Property

A prioritized list of one or more font family names and/or generic family names for the selected element.

css
a {
  font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

font-family: family-name|generic-family|initial|inherit;

|

More information

font-size CSS Property

The size of a font.

css
a {
  font-size: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

medium

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

font-size:medium|xx-small|x-small|small|large|x-large|xx-large|smaller|larger|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

font-style CSS Property

The font style for text.

css
a {
  font-style: italic;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

normal

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

font-style: normal|italic|oblique|initial|inherit;

|

More information

font-weight CSS Property

Specifies the thickness of characters in text.

css
#p1 {
  font-weight: bold;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

normal

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

font-weight: normal|bold|bolder|lighter|initial|inherit;

|

More information

overflow CSS Property

Specifies an element’s behavior when its content overflows the element’s box.

css
div {
  overflow: hidden;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

visible

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

overflow: visible|hidden|initial|inherit;

| |

Limitations

|

The ‘scroll’ and ‘auto’ values are not supported.

|

More information

overflow-wrap CSS Property

Specifies whether the element should insert line breaks within otherwise unbreakable strings to prevent these strings from flowing over control borders.

css
.text2 {
    overflow-wrap: anywhere;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

normal

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

overflow-wrap: normal|break-word|anywhere|initial|inherit;

|

More information

text-align CSS Property

The horizontal alignment of text.

css
div {
  text-align: center;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

left if direction is ltr, and right if direction is rtl

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

text-align: left|right|center|justify|initial|inherit;

|

More information

text-decoration CSS Property

A shorthand property for text-decoration-line, text-decoration-color, and text-decoration-style.

css
h3 {
  text-decoration: underline;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

none currentcolor solid

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

text-decoration: text-decoration-line text-decoration-color text-decoration-style|initial|inherit;

|

More information

text-decoration-color CSS Property

The color of the text-decoration (underlines, overlines, linethroughs).

css
h1 {
  text-decoration: underline;
  text-decoration-color: green;
}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

text-decoration-color: color|initial|inherit;

|

More information

text-decoration-line CSS Property

The kind of text decoration to use (for example, underline, overline, line-through).

css
.a1 {
  text-decoration-line: overline;
}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

text-decoration-line: none|underline|overline|line-through|initial|inherit;

|

More information

text-overflow CSS Property

Specifies how hidden overflow content is displayed to users.

css
p {
  white-space: nowrap;
  overflow: hidden;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

clip

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

text-overflow: clip|ellipsis|initial|inherit;

| |

Limitations

|

The ‘string’ value is not supported.

|

More information

Content Selection

user-select CSS Property

If a control has its AllowContentSelection property enabled (for example, HtmlContentControl.AllowContentSelection), utilize the user-select property to specify which elements should not allow users to copy their contents.

css
.specs {
    user-select: none;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

auto

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

user-select: auto|text|none;

|

Borders

border CSS Property

A shorthand property for: border-width, border-style, and border-color.

css
h1 {
  border: 5px solid green;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

medium none color

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border: border-width border-style border-color|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-bottom CSS Property

A shorthand property for border-bottom-width, border-bottom-style, and border-bottom-color.

css
h2 {
  border-bottom: 4px solid red;
}

|

Default value

|

medium none color

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-bottom: border-width border-style border-color|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-bottom-color CSS Property

The color of an element’s bottom border.

css
div {border-bottom-color: red;}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-bottom-color: color|transparent|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-bottom-left-radius CSS Property

The radius of the bottom-left corner.

css
p {
  border: 2px solid red;
  border-bottom-left-radius: 10px;
}

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-bottom-left-radius: length [length]|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-bottom-right-radius CSS Property

The radius of the bottom-right corner.

css
p {
  border: 2px solid red;
  border-bottom-right-radius: 10px;
}

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-bottom-right-radius: length| |initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-bottom-style CSS Property

The style of an element’s bottom border.

css
div {border-bottom-style: dashed;}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-bottom-style: none|solid|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-bottom-width CSS Property

The width of an element’s bottom border.

css
div {border-bottom-width: thin;}

|

Default value

|

medium

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-bottom-width: medium|thin|thick|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-color CSS Property

The color of an element’s borders.

css
p {border-color: red;}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-color: color|transparent|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-left CSS Property

A shorthand property for border-left-width, border-left-style, and border-left-color.

css
h1 {
  border-left: 3px solid blue;
}

|

Default value

|

medium none color

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-left: border-width border-style border-color|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-left-color CSS Property

The color of an element’s left border.

css
div {border-left-color: red;}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-left-color: color|transparent|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-left-style CSS Property

The style of an element’s left border.

css
div {border-left-style: dashed;}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-left-style: none|solid|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-left-width CSS Property

The width of an element’s left border.

css
div {border-left-width: thin;}

|

Default value

|

medium

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-left-width: medium|thin|thick|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-radius CSS Property

The radius of an element’s corners.

css
.myrect {
  border: 2px solid red;
  border-radius: 25px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-radius: 1-4 length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-right CSS Property

A shorthand property for border-right-width, border-right-style, and border-right-color.

css
h2 {
  border-right: 4px solid red;
}

|

Default value

|

medium none color

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-right: border-width border-style border-color|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-right-color CSS Property

The color of an element’s right border.

css
div {border-right-color: red;}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-right-color: color|transparent|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-right-style CSS Property

The style of an element’s right border.

css
div {border-right-style: dashed;}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-right-style: none|solid|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-right-width CSS Property

The width of an element’s right border.

css
div {border-right-width: thin;}

|

Default value

|

medium

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-right-width: medium|thin|thick|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-style CSS Property

The style of an element’s borders.

css
h1 {border-style: solid;}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-style: none|solid|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-top CSS Property

A shorthand property for border-top-width, border-top-style, and border-top-color.

css
h2 {
  border-top: 4px solid red;
}

|

Default value

|

medium none color

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-top: border-width border-style border-color|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-top-color CSS Property

The color of an element’s top border.

css
div {border-top-color: red;}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-top-color: color|transparent|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-top-left-radius CSS Property

The radius of the top-left corner.

css
.myclass {
  border: 2px solid green;
  border-top-left-radius: 5px;
}

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-top-left-radius: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-top-right-radius CSS Property

The radius of the top-right corner.

css
.myclass {
  border: 2px solid green;
  border-top-right-radius: 5px;
}

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-top-right-radius: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-top-style CSS Property

The style of an element’s top border.

css
div {border-top-style: dashed;}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-top-style: none|solid|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-top-width CSS Property

The width of an element’s top border.

css
div {border-top-width: thick;}

|

Default value

|

medium

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-top-width: medium|thin|thick|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

border-width CSS Property

The width of an element’s borders.

css
div {border-width: thick;}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

medium

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

border-width: medium|thin|thick|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

box-shadow CSS Property

Adds shadow effects around an element’s frame.

css
div {box-shadow: 10px 5px 5px @Red;}

|

Default value

|

none

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

box-shadow: none|h-offset v-offset blur spread color |inset|initial|inherit;

|

More information

Margins & Padding

margin CSS Property

A shorthand property for margin-top, margin-right, margin-bottom, and margin-left.

css
p {
  margin: 7px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

margin: length|initial|inherit;

| |

Limitations

|

The ‘auto’ value is not supported.

|

More information

margin-bottom CSS Property

An element’s bottom margin.

css
p {
  margin-bottom: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

margin-bottom: length|initial|inherit;

| |

Limitations

|

The ‘auto’ value is not supported.

|

More information

margin-left CSS Property

An element’s left margin.

css
p {
  margin-left: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

margin-left: length|initial|inherit;

| |

Limitations

|

The ‘auto’ value is not supported.

|

More information

margin-right CSS Property

An element’s right margin.

css
p {
  margin-right: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

margin-right: length|initial|inherit;

| |

Limitations

|

The ‘auto’ value is not supported.

|

More information

margin-top CSS Property

An element’s top margin.

css
p {
  margin-top: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

margin-top: length|initial|inherit;

| |

Limitations

|

The ‘auto’ value is not supported.

|

More information

padding CSS Property

A shorthand property for padding-top, padding-right, padding-bottom, and padding-left.

css
p {
  padding: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

padding: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

padding-bottom CSS Property

An element’s bottom padding.

css
p {
  padding-bottom: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

padding-bottom: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

padding-left CSS Property

An element’s left padding.

css
p {
  padding-left: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

padding-left: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

padding-right CSS Property

An element’s right padding.

css
p {
  padding-right: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

padding-right: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

padding-top CSS Property

An element’s top padding.

css
p {
  padding-top: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

padding-top: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

Colors

background-color CSS Property

An element’s background color.

css
h1 {background-color: yellow;}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

transparent

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

background-color: color|transparent|initial|inherit;

|

More information

color CSS Property

The text color.

css
h1 {
  color: blue;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

color: color|initial|inherit;

|

More information

Background Image

background-image CSS Property

An element’s background image.

css
div {
  background-image: url('icon');
}

Demo

|

Default value

|

none

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

background-image: image-name-from-HtmlImages-Collection|initial|inherit;

|

More information

background-position CSS Property

The initial position for each background image.

css
div {
  background-image: url('icon');
  background-position: left 10px top, bottom right;
}

Demo

|

Default value

|

0% 0%

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

background-position: top|bottom|left|right|center|width height|image1-width image1-height, center|initial|inherit;

|

More information

background-size CSS Property

The size of the element’s background image. The image can be left to its natural size, stretched, or constrained to fit the available space.

css
div {
  background-image: url('icon');
  background-size: auto 6px;
}

Demo

|

Default value

|

auto auto

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

background-size: cover|contain|50%|12px|50% 12px|6px, auto, contain|initial|inherit;

|

More information

background-repeat CSS Property

Sets whether background images are repeated along the horizontal axis, vertical axis, or not repeated at all.

css
div {
  background-image: url('icon');
  background-repeat: space repeat;
}

Demo

|

Default value

|

repeat

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

background-size: repeat-x|repeat-y|repeat|space|round|no-repeat|round space|initial|inherit;

|

More information

Layout & Alignment

align-content CSS Property

Aligns a flex container’s lines within it. This property is in effect when the flexbox has two or more lines.

css
div {
  width: 100px;
  height: 400px;
  border: 1px solid red;
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
  align-content: center;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

stretch

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

align-content: stretch|center|flex-start|flex-end|space-between|space-around|initial|inherit;

|

More information

align-items CSS Property

The default alignment for items inside a flexible container.

css
div {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

stretch

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

align-items: stretch|center|flex-start|flex-end|baseline|initial|inherit;

|

More information

align-self CSS Property

The alignment for the current element inside a flexible container.

css
#myDiv {
  align-self: center;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

auto

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

align-self: auto|stretch|center|flex-start|flex-end|baseline|initial|inherit;

|

More information

display CSS Property

Specifies whether an element is treated as a block or inline element. Specifies the layout used for the element’s children, such as flow layout, grid or flex.

css
.myclass {display: flex;}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

display: inline|block|list-item|inline-block|table|inline-table|table-row-group|table-header-group|table-footer-group|table-row|table-column-group|table-column|table-cell|table-caption|none|initial|inherit;

|

More information

flex CSS Property

A shorthand property for flex-grow, flex-shrink, and flex-basis.

css
.flex-item {
  flex: auto;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0 1 auto

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

flex: flex-grow flex-shrink flex-basis|auto|initial|inherit;

|

More information

flex-basis CSS Property

The initial length of a flexible item.

css
.item {
    display: flex;
    flex-basis: 150px;
    margin: 5px;
    background-color: lightblue;
    border-radius: 10px;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

auto

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

flex-basis: number|auto|initial|inherit;

|

More information

flex-direction CSS Property

The direction of items in a flex container.

css
.container {
    display: flex;
    flex-direction: column;
    background-color: lightblue;
    justify-content: space-between;
    width: 150px;
    height: 200px;
    text-align: center;
    border-radius: 10px;
    padding: 10px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

row

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

flex-direction: row|row-reverse|column|column-reverse|initial|inherit;

|

More information

flex-grow CSS Property

Specifies how an item grows relative to other flexible items inside the same container.

css
.flexible {
    padding: 5px;
    flex-grow: 1;
    background-color: lightgreen;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

flex-grow: number|initial|inherit;

|

More information

flex-shrink CSS Property

Specifies how an item shrinks relative to other flexible items inside the same container.

css
.fixedSize {
    padding: 5px;
    flex-shrink: 0;
    background-color: lightblue;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

1

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

flex-shrink: number|initial|inherit;

|

More information

flex-wrap CSS Property

Specifies whether flexible items should wrap.

css
.container {
    display: flex;
    flex-wrap: wrap;
    justify-content: center;
    align-content: stretch;
    height: 200px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

nowrap

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

flex-wrap: nowrap|wrap|wrap-reverse|initial|inherit;

|

More information

justify-content CSS Property

Aligns the flexible container’s items when the items do not use all available space on the main-axis (horizontally).

css
.item {
    display: flex;
    flex-basis: 150px;
    margin: 5px;
    background-color: lightblue;
    border-radius: 10px;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

flex-start

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

justify-content: flex-start|flex-end|center|space-between|space-around|space-evenly|initial|inherit;

|

More information

object-fit CSS Property

Specifies how an img element is resized to fit its container.

css
img {
  width: 200px;
  height: 300px;
  object-fit: contain;
}

|

Default value

|

fill

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

object-fit: fill|contain|cover|none|scale-down|initial|inherit;

|

More information

order CSS Property

The order of a flexible item relative to other items within the same container.

css
.order {
    order: 1;
}

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

order: number|initial|inherit;

|

More information

position CSS Property

Specifies how an element should interpret its top, bottom, left, right, and z-index properties.

static The element is positioned according to the normal flow of the document. The top, bottom, left, right, and z-index properties are ignored. relative The element is positioned according to the normal flow of the document, and then offset relative to itself based on the values of top, right, bottom, and left. absolute The element is removed from the normal document flow, and no space is created for the element in the page layout. It is positioned relative to its closest positioned ancestor, if any. Otherwise, it is placed relative to the initial containing block. fixed The element is removed from the normal document flow, and no space is created for the element in the page layout. It is positioned relative to the initial containing block established by the viewport. This mode is supported only in HtmlContentControl templates.

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

static

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

order: static|absolute|relative|fixed;

|

More information

z-index CSS Property

The z-order of a positioned element (the position property is not static) and its descendants or flex items. The z-index property accepts both positive and negative numbers. The auto value is equivalent to 0.

css
.block-top {
    top: 30px;
    left: 30px;
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 3;
}
.block-bottom {
    top: 30px;
    left: 30px;
    position: absolute;
    z-index: -1;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

auto

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

order: number|auto;

|

More information

white-space CSS Property

Specifies how white-space inside an element is handled.

css
p.c1 {
  white-space: nowrap;
}

|

Default value

|

normal

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

white-space: normal|nowrap|pre|pre-line|pre-wrap|initial|inherit;

|

More information

Size

height CSS Property

An element’s height.

css
b {
  height: 10px;
  border: 2px solid black;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

auto

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

height: auto|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

max-height CSS Property

An element’s maximum height.

css
.mydiv {
  max-height: 100px;
}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

max-height: none|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

max-width CSS Property

An element’s maximum width.

css
.mydiv {
  max-width: 100px;
}

|

Default value

|

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

max-width: none|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

min-height CSS Property

An element’s minimum height.

css
.mydiv {
  min-height: 100px;
}

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

min-height: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

min-width CSS Property

An element’s minimum width.

css
.mydiv {
  min-width: 100px;
}

|

Default value

|

0

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

min-width: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

width CSS Property

An element’s width.

css
.mydiv {
  width: 100px;
}

Run Demo

|

Default value

|

auto

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

width: auto|length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

Tables

border-spacing CSS Property

The distance between the borders of adjacent cells in a table.

css
.mytable1 {
  border-collapse: separate;
  border-spacing: 15px;
}

|

Default value

|

2px

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

border-spacing: length|initial|inherit;

|

More information

Visibility

opacity CSS Property

The opacity level for an element.

css
img {
  opacity: 0.5;
}

|

Default value

|

1

| |

Inherited by children

|

No

| |

Syntax

|

opacity: value|initial|inherit;

|

More information

visibility CSS Property

An element’s visibility.

css
b {
  visibility: hidden;
}

|

Default value

|

visible

| |

Inherited by children

|

Yes

| |

Syntax

|

visibility: visible|hidden|initial|inherit;

| |

Limitations

|

The ‘collapse’ value is not supported.

|

More information

Specify Color Values

When you set CSS color properties (for example, color, backround-color, and border-color) you can specify color values by name, RGB, or HEX format. The HTML Template Editor’s IntelliSense feature allows you to see a list of supported color options when you press the CTRL+SPACE shortcut.

The following sub-sections contain more details on supported color value specifiers and color names.

Predefined HTML Colors

You can use color names defined in the standard Color structure to specify a color value. Sample values include: Azure, Coral, Black, Firebrick, Red, Violet, etc.

css
.container {
    color: Green;
}

System-dependent Colors

You can also use colors enumerated by the SystemColors type: ButtonText, Control, ControlText, Info, etc.

css
.container {
    background-color: Control;
}

Colors in RGB and RGBA Formats

A color value can be specified in RGB or RGBA formats as follows:

css
.container {
    color: rgb(100, 200, 50);
    background-color: rgba(10, 37, 178, 0.5);
}

The fourth parameter of the RGBA format specifies the alpha component (transparency) of a color — a value between 0 (fully transparent) and 1 (fully opaque).

Colors in Hex Format

Use the #value syntax to specify a color as a hexadecimal value. For example:

css
.container {
    color: #2a4211;
}

Skin-dependent Colors

These are specific colors defined in DevExpress skins. When you use one of these colors in CSS markup, the actual color value is determined by the currently applied skin. The following image demonstrates a few skin colors painted in three skins:

Use the @name notation to specify a skin color. To define the alpha component for a skin color, use the following syntax: @name/alpha, where alpha is a value between 0 (fully transparent) and 1 (fully opaque). Use the following syntax to define composite color names (with spaces): @"Primary Background 0".

css
.container {
    color: @Success;
    background-color: @"Primary Background 0";
    border-color: @Green/0.2;
}

Skin colors can be grouped into three logical categories:

  • SVG Icon Colors — The colors used in the DevExpress SVG images (see Image Gallery):

  • Common Colors — Colors shared by all raster and vector skins. Supported color names include:

  • Skin-specific Colors — Colors that are available only within specific vector skins. No raster skin has these colors.

See Also

HTML & CSS Support - Best Practices

HTML and CSS-based Desktop UI

HTML Tags