The HTML <pre>
element represents preformatted text which is to be presented exactly as written in the HTML file. The text is typically rendered using a non-proportional ("monospace") font. Whitespace inside this element is displayed as written.
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Content categories | Flow content, palpable content. |
---|---|
Permitted content | Phrasing content. |
Tag omission | None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory. |
Permitted parents | Any element that accepts flow content. |
Implicit ARIA role | No corresponding role |
Permitted ARIA roles | Any |
DOM interface | HTMLPreElement |
Attributes
This element only includes the global attributes.
cols
- Contains the preferred count of characters that a line should have. It was a non-standard synonym of
width
. To achieve such an effect, use CSSwidth
instead. width
- Contains the preferred count of characters that a line should have. Though technically still implemented, this attribute has no visual effect; to achieve such an effect, use CSS
width
instead. wrap
- Is a hint indicating how the overflow must happen. In modern browser this hint is ignored and no visual effect results in its present; to achieve such an effect, use CSS
white-space
instead.
Example
HTML
<p>Using CSS to change the font color is easy.</p> <pre> body { color: red; } </pre>
Result
Accessibility concerns
It is important to provide an alternate description for any images or diagrams created using preformatted text. The alternate description should clearly and concisely describe the image or diagram's content.
People experiencing low vision conditions and browsing with the aid of assistive technology such as a screen reader may not understand what the preformatted text characters are representing when they are read out in sequence.
A combination of the <figure>
and <figcaption>
elements, supplemented by a combination of an id
and the ARIA role
and aria-labelledby
attributes allow the preformatted text to be announced as an image, with the figcaption
serving as the image's alternate description.
Example
<figure role="img" aria-labelledby="cow-caption"> <pre> ___________________________ < I'm an expert in my field. > --------------------------- \ ^__^ \ (oo)\_______ (__)\ )\/\ ||----w | || || </pre> <figcaption id="cow-caption"> A cow saying, "I'm an expert in my field." The cow is illustrated using preformatted text characters. </figcaption> </figure>
- MDN Understanding WCAG, Guideline 1.1 explanations
- H86: Providing text alternatives for ASCII art, emoticons, and leetspeak | W3C Techniques for WCAG 2.0
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
HTML Living Standard The definition of '<pre>' in that specification. |
Living Standard | No significant change from HTML5 |
HTML5 The definition of '<pre>' in that specification. |
Recommendation | No significant change from HTML 4.01 Specification |
HTML 4.01 Specification The definition of '<pre>' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Deprecated the cols attribute |
Browser compatibility
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
pre | Chrome Full support Yes | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 1 | IE Full support Yes | Opera Full support Yes | Safari Full support Yes | WebView Android Full support Yes | Chrome Android Full support Yes | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support Yes | Safari iOS Full support Yes | Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes |
cols | Chrome No support No | Edge No support No | Firefox No support 1 — 29 | IE No support No | Opera No support No | Safari No support No | WebView Android No support No | Chrome Android No support No | Firefox Android No support 4 — 29 | Opera Android No support No | Safari iOS No support No | Samsung Internet Android No support No |
width | Chrome
Full support
Yes
| Edge
Full support
12
| Firefox
Full support
1
| IE
Full support
Yes
| Opera
Full support
Yes
| Safari
Full support
Yes
| WebView Android
Full support
Yes
| Chrome Android
Full support
Yes
| Firefox Android
Full support
4
| Opera Android
Full support
Yes
| Safari iOS
Full support
Yes
| Samsung Internet Android
Full support
Yes
|
wrap | Chrome ? | Edge ? | Firefox Full support 1 | IE ? | Opera ? | Safari ? | WebView Android ? | Chrome Android ? | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android ? | Safari iOS ? | Samsung Internet Android ? |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- No support
- No support
- Compatibility unknown
- Compatibility unknown
- Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
- Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
- Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
- Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
- See implementation notes.
- See implementation notes.
See also
- CSS:
white-space
,word-break
- Related element:
<code>