The selectors in CSS are the rules that have the pattern of elements. On the basis of these patterns, the elements are selected by the browser and adjusted in styles. In some cases, it is necessary to style the elements having a specific parent element. For instance, if there are multiple “
- How to Style a Parent Element by Specifying its Child Elements?
- How to Select all Child Elements?
- Example
- How to Select all Direct Children Elements?
- Conclusion
- About the author
- Sharqa Hameed
- Selecting Parent Elements in CSS: A Guide to Pseudo-classes, Combinators, and More
- The :has pseudo-class
- Example
- Using the descendant combinator
- Example
- The closest thing we have to a CSS parent selector
- The element > element selector
- Example
- Applying style to parent classes
- Example
- Limitations of CSS parent selectors
- Other code examples for selecting parent elements of a class in CSS
- Conclusion
How to Style a Parent Element by Specifying its Child Elements?
First, create an HTML file having two “div” elements as follows:
- Add two “ ” elements with the same class “parent-div”.
- The first one contains two “ ” elements.
- The second “” element contains “ ” and “ ”:
If it is required to style the “” element having the “ ” element, then we can adjust the styling of the parent element by holding the child. For this purpose, we can utilize the “:has()” selector.
From both of the “” elements, select the one which contains the “” element using “.class-name:has(child-name)”:
Here, we have applied the following CSS properties on the parent element:
- “background-color” is used to specify the element’s background color.
- “color” specifies the element text color.
- “width” is used to define the element width.
- “height” specifies the height of the element.
- “border-radius” property is used to set the rounded corners of the element.
- “text-align” specifies the text alignment.
How to Select all Child Elements?
To select the child element with the help of the parent selector, go through the given example.
Example
Implement the following steps to create an HTML page:
- Add a div element that contains two “ ” tags and a “ ” tag having the class “child-div”.
- The child “div” element contains a “
” element:
We can select child elements through the parent “ ” class. This will not only select its direct “p” elements but also selects the nested “p” elements:
How to Select all Direct Children Elements?
To select the direct child of the parent div, we can use the “>” symbol. This will help to select all the “p” elements that are the direct child of parent “ ”. For instance, we have applied the following CSS properties:
The “font-family” specifies the font of the selected element and “font-size” is used to define the size of the font:
We have discussed about CSS parent selectors in HTML and CSS.
Conclusion
In CSS, the “:has()” selector is utilized as a parent selector pseudo-class. It is particularly used to select parent elements. For instance, “.parent-div:has(h1)” selects the parent element having the “ ” elements. In order to select the child element of the parent element, utilize “.parent-div p”. The condition statement can also be used to select all the direct child elements. This article has explained the CSS parent selector with examples.
About the author
Sharqa Hameed
I am a Linux enthusiast, I love to read Every Linux blog on the internet. I hold masters degree in computer science and am passionate about learning and teaching.
Selecting Parent Elements in CSS: A Guide to Pseudo-classes, Combinators, and More
Learn how to select parent elements of a class in CSS using pseudo-classes, combinators, and other techniques. Discover the limitations of CSS parent selectors and how to apply styles to parent classes. Get started now!
- The :has pseudo-class
- Using the descendant combinator
- The closest thing we have to a CSS parent selector
- The element > element selector
- Applying style to parent classes
- Limitations of CSS parent selectors
- Other code examples for selecting parent elements of a class in CSS
- Conclusion
- Can we select parent element in CSS?
- How to select parent class from child class in CSS?
- How do I select a child of a parent in CSS?
- How do I select a parent in SCSS?
CSS is a powerful tool for styling web pages, but it does not currently have a parent selector. However, there are still ways to select parent elements of a class in CSS using pseudo-classes and combinators. In this article, we will explore the various methods that can be used to select parent element s in CSS and understand their limitations.
The :has pseudo-class
The :has pseudo-class allows for selecting parent elements based on their children. This pseudo-class was officially defined in CSS4. The :has pseudo-class is not yet supported by all browsers, but it is a useful tool for selecting parent elements.
The syntax for using the :has pseudo-class is as follows:
This selects the parent element that contains the specified child element. For example, if you want to select the parent element with the class “container” that contains a child element with the class “item”, you can use the following CSS code:
.container:has(.item) /* styles */ > The :has pseudo-class can also be used to target nested elements. For example, if you want to select the parent element that contains an element with the class “child” which itself contains an element with the class “grandchild”, you can use the following CSS code:
parent:has(child:has(grandchild)) /* styles */ > Example
Consider the following HTML code:
div class="container"> div class="item"> p>Some textp> div> div> To apply styles to the parent element with the class “container” that contains a child element with the class “item”, you can use the following CSS code:
.container:has(.item) background-color: yellow; padding: 10px; > Using the descendant combinator
To select a child element whose parent element has a certain class, use the descendant combinator along with the class. This allows for selecting the parent element as well. The descendant combinator is represented by a space between the two selectors.
The syntax for using the descendant combinator is as follows:
This selects all child elements that are descendants of the specified parent element. For example, if you want to select all child elements with the class “item” that are descendants of the parent element with the class “container”, you can use the following CSS code:
Example
Consider the following HTML code:
div class="container"> div class="item"> p>Some textp> div> div> To apply styles to the parent element with the class “container” that contains a child element with the class “item”, you can use the following CSS code:
.container .item background-color: yellow; padding: 10px; > The closest thing we have to a CSS parent selector
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The element > element selector
The element > element selector selects those elements which are the children of the specific parent. This allows for targeting specific parent elements. The element > element selector is represented by a greater than sign between the two selectors.
The syntax for using the element > element selector is as follows:
This selects all child elements that are direct children of the specified parent element. For example, if you want to select all child elements with the class “item” that are direct children of the parent element with the class “container”, you can use the following CSS code:
Example
Consider the following HTML code:
div class="container"> div class="item"> p>Some textp> div> div> To apply styles to the parent element with the class “container” that contains a child element with the class “item”, you can use the following CSS code:
.container > .item background-color: yellow; padding: 10px; > Applying style to parent classes
To apply style to the parent class that already has child elements, use the CSS selector. Multiple classes for the same node that you want to target must use the dot-notation for each class. SCSS, Sass, and CSS syntax can be used to add pseudo-classes to the outer selector.
Example
Consider the following HTML code:
div class="container item"> p>Some textp> div> To apply styles to the parent element with the class “container” that contains a child element with the class “item”, you can use the following CSS code:
.container.item background-color: yellow; padding: 10px; > Limitations of CSS parent selectors
Selecting a parent or ancestor of an element that satisfies certain criteria is not possible in CSS. There are no selectors or combinators to select parent items, siblings of parents, or children of parent siblings in CSS. CSS selectors are limited by the selection direction, i.e., child descendant or following element can be selected, but not the parent or ancestor.
A more advanced selector scheme (such as XPath) would enable more complex CSS selectors for selecting parent or ancestor elements.
Other code examples for selecting parent elements of a class in CSS
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In Css case in point, select parent element css code example
Conclusion
While CSS does not have a parent selector, there are still ways to select parent elements of a class. The :has pseudo-class, the descendant combinator, and the element > element selector are all useful tools for selecting parent elements. Applying style to parent classes can also be achieved using CSS and preprocessor syntax. However, there are limitations to CSS parent selectors and more complex selector schemes may be needed for advanced selection.