CSS Outline

The CSS outline properties specify the style, color, and width of an outline.

An outline is a line that is drawn around elements (outside the borders) to make the element “stand out”.

However, the outline property is different from the border property – The outline is NOT a part of an element’s dimensions; the element’s total width and height is not affected by the width of the outline.

Outline Style
The outline-style property specifies the style of the outline.

The outline-style property can have one of the following values:

• dotted – Defines a dotted outline
• dashed – Defines a dashed outline
• solid – Defines a solid outline
• double – Defines a double outline
• groove – Defines a 3D grooved outline. The effect depends on the outline-color value
• ridge – Defines a 3D ridged outline. The effect depends on the outline-color value
• inset – Defines a 3D inset outline. The effect depends on the outline-color value
• outset – Defines a 3D outset outline. The effect depends on the outline-color value
• none – Defines no outline
• hidden – Defines a hidden outline

The following example first sets a thin black border around each <p> element, then it shows the different outline-style values:

Example

p {
    border: 1px solid black;
    outline-color: red;
}
p.dotted {outline-style: dotted;}
p.dashed {outline-style: dashed;}
p.solid {outline-style: solid;}
p.double {outline-style: double;}
p.groove {outline-style: groove;}
p.ridge {outline-style: ridge;}
p.inset {outline-style: inset;}
p.outset {outline-style: outset;}

Result:

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Outline Color
The outline-color property is used to set the color of the outline.

The color can be set by:

• name – specify a color name, like “red”
• RGB – specify a RGB value, like “rgb(255,0,0)”
• Hex – specify a hex value, like “#ff0000”
• invert – performs a color inversion (which ensures that the outline is visible, regardless of color background)

Example

p {
    border: 1px solid black;
    outline-style: double;
    outline-color: red;
}

Result:

Try it Yourself »

Outline Width
The outline-width property specifies the width of the outline.

The width can be set as a specific size (in px, pt, cm, em, etc) or by using one of the three pre-defined values: thin, medium, or thick.

Example

p {border: 1px solid black;}
p.one {
    outline-style: double;
    outline-color: red;
    outline-width: thick;
}
p.two {
    outline-style: double;
    outline-color: green;
    outline-width: 3px;
}

Result:

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Outline – Shorthand property
To shorten the code, it is also possible to specify all the individual outline properties in one property.

The outline property is a shorthand property for the following individual outline properties:

• outline-width
• outline-style (required)
• outline-color

Example

p {
    border: 1px solid black;
    outline: 5px dotted red;
}

Result:

Try it Yourself »

All CSS Outline Properties

Property	Description
outline	Sets all the outline properties in one declaration
outline-color	Sets the color of an outline
outline-offset	Specifies the space between an outline and the edge or border of an element
outline-style	Sets the style of an outline
outline-width	Sets the width of an outline