This is a shorthand property notation based on a traditional typography
shorthand method of specifying values for multiple properties related
to fonts ('font-style', 'font-variant', 'font-weight', 'font-size',
'line-height', and 'font-family'.) Defaults for this shorthand method
match those used for each property listed individually. If properties
are omitted from this shorthand notation, they are assumed to carry
their individual default values.
CSS2 introduces the capability of setting a font to a system font via
this property. This capability is only possible with the 'font'
shorthand (they can't be set with 'font-family') - altering the
capability of this property to be more than the sum of the other
individual properties it can set. After setting a system font,
individual font properties can be applied to the result to customize
the font behavior. If an indicated system font type is not available
a browser default font should be used.
Allowed Values
inherit
CSS2
Type: Explicit
Description:
Explicitly sets the value of this property to that of the parent.
[font-style]
CSS1 | CSS2
| IE3 | N4B2
| O3.5
Type: NA
Description:
See the individual property for details on
syntax and allowed values.
[font-variant]
CSS1 | CSS2
| IE4 | O3.5
Type: NA
Description:
See the individual property for details on
syntax and allowed values.
[font-weight]
CSS1 | CSS2
| IE3 | N4B2
| O3.5
Type: NA
Description:
See the individual property for details on
syntax and allowed values.
[font-size]
CSS1 | CSS2
| IE3B1 | N4B2
| O3.5
Type: NA
Description:
See the individual property for details on
syntax and allowed values.
[line-height]
CSS1 | CSS2
| IE3B1 | N4B2
| O3.5
Type: NA
Description:
See the individual property for details on
syntax and allowed values.
[font-family]
CSS1 | CSS2
| IE3B1 | N4B2
| O3.5
Type: NA
Description:
See the individual property for details on
syntax and allowed values.
Description:
These values refer to fonts that are already in use for a specific purpose by the
browser or system. caption: Captioned controls (buttons,
drop-downs, etc.) icon: Icon labels. menu: Dropdown menus. message-box: Dialog box text. small-caption: Fonts used for 'small
controls'. [no explanation or example for this is given in CSS2;
this could possibly be a font used for something like a 'tooltip' - ed] status-bar: Fonts used for window status bars.
- This version does not allow the specification of the
[font-style], [font-variant], and [font-weight] sub-properties
via this property. The CSS1 specification was not complete when
the browser was released and these sub-properties were added to
the syntax later.
Netscape
4.x:
- Reported elsewhere: This property has no effect if specified
in an inline style along with margin properties.