display Attribute | display Property

Sets or retrieves whether the object is rendered.

Syntax

HTML	{ display : sDisplay }
Scripting	object.style.display [ = sDisplay ]

Possible Values

sDisplay

String that specifies or receives one of the following values. block Object is rendered as a block element. none Object is not rendered. inline Default. Object is rendered as an inline element sized by the dimensions of the content. inline-block Object is rendered inline, but the contents of the object are rendered as a block element. Adjacent inline elements are rendered on the same line, space permitting. list-item Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and later. Object is rendered as a block element, and a list-item marker is added. table-header-group Table header is always displayed before all other rows and row groups, and after any top captions. The header is displayed on each page spanned by a table. table-footer-group Table footer is always displayed after all other rows and row groups, and before any bottom captions. The footer is displayed on each page spanned by a table.

The property is read/write for all objects except the following, for which it is read-only: currentStyle. The property has a default value of inline for all objects with the following exceptions:

ADDRESS	block
BLOCKQUOTE	block
BODY	block
CENTER	block
COL	block
COLGROUP	block
DD	block
DIR	block
DIV	block
DL	block
DT	block
FIELDSET	block
FORM	block
FRAME	none
hn	block
HR	block
IFRAME	block
LEGEND	block
LI	list-item
LISTING	block
MARQUEE	block
MENU	block
OL	block
P	block
PLAINTEXT	block
PRE	block
TABLE	block
TBODY	none
TD	block
TFOOT	none
TH	block
THEAD	none
TR	block
UL	block
XMP	block

The Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) attribute is not inherited.

Expressions can be used in place of the preceding value(s), as of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. For more information, see About Dynamic Properties.

Remarks

In Internet Explorer 4.0, the block, inline, and list-item values are not supported explicitly, but do render the element.

The block and inline values are supported explicitly as of Internet Explorer 5.

In Internet Explorer 5.5 and earlier, the default value of this property for li elements is block.

The inline-block value is supported as of Internet Explorer 5.5. You can use this value to give an object a layout without specifying the object’s height or width.

All visible HTMLobjects are block or inline. For example, a div object is a block element, and a span object is an inline element. Block elements typically start a new line and can contain other block elements and inline elements. Inline elements do not typically start a new line and can contain other inline elements or data. Changing the values for the display property affects the layout of the surrounding content by:

• Adding a new line after the element with the value block.
• Removing a line from the element with the value inline.
• Hiding the data for the element with the value none.

 

In contrast to the visibility property, display=none reserves no space for the object on the screen.

The table-header-group and table-footer-group values can be used to specify that the contents of the tHead and tFoot objects are displayed on every page for a table that spans multiple pages.

Examples

This example shows the effect of changing the values for the display property between inline, block, and none.

<SPAN ID=oSpan>
This is a SPAN
</SPAN>
in a sentence.
<P>
<INPUT TYPE=button VALUE="Block"
    onclick="oSpan.style.display='block'">

This example uses function calls to hide and show table rows and cells.

Hide Example

<SCRIPT>
function getPets()
{
    oRow1Cell2.style.display="none";
    oRow2Cell2.style.display="block";
    oRow3Cell2.style.display="none";
}
</SCRIPT>
:
<TABLE>
<TR ID="oRow1"><TD>Horses</TD>
<TD ID="oRow1Cell2">Thoroughbreds</TD>
<TD>Fast</TD></TR>
<TR ID="oRow2"><TD>Dogs</TD>
<TD ID="oRow2Cell2">Greyhounds</TD>
<TD>Fast</TD></TR>
<TR ID="oRow3"><TD>Marsupials</TD>
<TD ID="oRow3Cell2">Opossums</TD>
<TD>Slow</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
:
<INPUT TYPE=button onclick="getPets()"
    VALUE="Show household pets">

Standards Information

This property is defined in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Level 1 (CSS1) .

Applies To

A, ABBR, ACRONYM, ADDRESS, APPLET, B, BDO, BIG, BLOCKQUOTE, BODY, BR, BUTTON, CAPTION, CENTER, CITE, CODE, COL, COLGROUP, currentStyle, CUSTOM, DD, defaults, DEL, DFN, DIR, DIV, DL, DT, EM, EMBED, FIELDSET, FONT, FORM, FRAME, hn, HR, HTML, I, IFRAME, IMG, INPUT type=button, INPUT type=checkbox, INPUT type=file, INPUT type=image, INPUT type=password, INPUT type=radio, INPUT type=reset, INPUT type=submit, INPUT type=text, INS, KBD, LABEL, LEGEND, LI, LISTING, MARQUEE, MENU, NOBR, OBJECT, OL, P, PLAINTEXT, PRE, Q, RT, RUBY, S, SAMP, SELECT, SMALL, SPAN, STRIKE, STRONG, style, SUB, SUP, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TEXTAREA, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TR, TT, U, UL, VAR, XMP

See Also

CSS Enhancements in Internet Explorer 6