CSS :target Pseudo Class

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The :target pseudo-class is used to highlight the section of a page linked to from a table of contents. It styles an element that is the target of an internal link in a document.

The :target pseudo-class represents the target element with an id matching the URL's fragment.

Watch a video course CSS - The Complete Guide (incl. Flexbox, Grid & Sass)

The :target pseudo-class is used to create a lightbox without any JavaScript part. This method uses the ability of anchor links to point to those elements that are hidden on the page, by default. When they are targeted, CSS changes their display so as to be shown.

Version

Selectors Level 4

Selectors Level 3

Syntax

:target {
  css declarations;
}

Example of the :target selector:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      :target {
        border: 2px solid #1c87c9;
        background-color: #eeeeee;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>:target selector example</h2>
    <p>
      <a href="#example1">Jump to Paragraph 1</a>
    </p>
    <p>
      <a href="#example2">Jump to Paragraph 2</a>
    </p>
    <p id="example1">
      <strong>Paragraph 1</strong>
    </p>
    <p id="example2">
      <strong>Paragraph 2</strong>
    </p>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Example of using the :target psudo-class to create a tabbed menu:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <style>
      .tab-menu div {
        display: none;
        background-color: #f5f5f5;
        padding: 0 20px 20px;
      }
      .tab-menu a {
        text-decoration: none;
        padding: 10px;
        margin: 20px 0;
        display: inline-block;
      }
      .tab-menu div:target {
        display: block;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>:target selector example</h1>
    <div class="tab-menu">
      <a href="#html">HTML</a>
      <a href="#css">CSS</a>
      <a href="#php">PHP</a>
      <div id="html">
        <h2>
          <a href="https://www.w3docs.com/learn-html.html">Lean HTML</a>
        </h2>
        <p>HTML-Hyper Text Markup Language
        </p>
      </div>
      <div id="css">
        <h2>
          <a href="https://www.w3docs.com/learn-css.html">Learn CSS</a>
        </h2>
        <p>CSS-Cascading Style Sheets
        </p>
      </div>
      <div id="php">
        <h2>
          <a href="https://www.w3docs.com/learn-php.html">Learn PHP</a>
        </h2>
        <p>PHP-Hyertext Preprocessor
        </p>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <style>
      h1+a {
        text-decoration: none;
        padding: 10px 20px;
        background-color: #8ebf42;
        color: #ffffff;
        font-family: sans-serif;
      }
      /* Add animation (Chrome, Safari, Opera) */
      @-webkit-keyframes example {
        from {
          top: -100px;
          opacity: 0;
        }
        to {
          top: 0px;
          opacity: 1;
        }
      }
      /* Add animation (Standard syntax) */
      @keyframes example {
        from {
          top: -100px;
          opacity: 0;
        }
        to {
          top: 0px;
          opacity: 1;
        }
      }
      /* The modal's background */
      .modal {
        display: none;
        position: fixed;
        left: 0;
        top: 0;
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
        overflow: auto;
        background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);
        background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
      }
      /* Display the modal when targeted */
      .modal:target {
        display: table;
        position: absolute;
      }
      /* The modal box */
      .modal-dialog {
        display: table-cell;
        vertical-align: middle;
      }
      /* The modal's content */
      .modal-dialog .modal-content {
        margin: auto;
        background-color: #f3f3f3;
        position: relative;
        padding: 0;
        outline: 0;
        border: 1px #777 solid;
        text-align: justify;
        width: 80%;
        box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 6px 20px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19);
        /* Add animation */
        -webkit-animation-name: example;
        /* Chrome, Safari, Opera */
        -webkit-animation-duration: 0.5s;
        /* Chrome, Safari, Opera */
        animation-name: example;
        animation-duration: 0.5s;
      }
      /* The button used to close the modal */
      .closebtn {
        text-decoration: none;
        float: right;
        font-size: 35px;
        font-weight: bold;
        color: #fff;
      }
      .closebtn:hover,
      .closebtn:focus {
        color: #000;
        text-decoration: none;
        cursor: pointer;
      }
      .container {
        padding: 2px 16px;
        text-align: center;
        line-height: 1.6;
      }
      header {
        background-color: #337ab7;
        font-size: 25px;
        color: white;
      }
      header h2 {
        text-align: left;
      }
      footer {
        background-color: #337ab7;
        font-size: 20px;
        color: white;
      }
      footer p {
        text-align: right;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>:target selector example</h1>
    <a href="#modal">Open Modal</a>
    <div id="modal" class="modal">
      <div class="modal-dialog">
        <div class="modal-content">
          <header class="container">
            <a href="#" class="closebtn">×</a>
            <h2>Header</h2>
          </header>
          <div class="container">
            <p>Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.</p>
          </div>
          <footer class="container">
            <p>Footer</p>
          </footer>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

There is a slight difference between modal boxes and lightboxes. Lightboxes can be closed by clicking outside the pop-up, while modal boxes can only be closed by interacting inside the pop-up.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <style>
      h1+a {
        background-color: #8ebf42;
        padding: 20px 40px;
        color: #ffffff;
        text-decoration: none;
        font-size: 20px;
        margin: 15px 0;
        display: inline-block;
      }
      /* Unopened lightbox */
      .lightbox {
        display: none;
      }
      /* Opened lightbox */
      .lightbox:target {
        position: absolute;
        left: 0;
        top: 0;
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
        display: flex;
        align-items: center;
        justify-content: center;
      }
      /* Lightbox content */
      .lightbox figcaption {
        width: 25rem;
        position: relative;
        padding: 1.5em;
        background-color: #8ebf42;
      }
      /* Close button */
      .lightbox .close {
        position: relative;
        display: block;
      }
      .lightbox .close::after {
        right: -1rem;
        top: -1rem;
        width: 2rem;
        height: 2rem;
        position: absolute;
        display: flex;
        z-index: 1;
        align-items: center;
        justify-content: center;
        background-color: black;
        border-radius: 50%;
        color: white;
        content: "×";
        cursor: pointer;
      }
      /* Lightbox overlay */
      .lightbox .close::before {
        left: 0;
        top: 0;
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
        position: fixed;
        background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, .7);
        content: "";
        cursor: default;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>:target selector example</h1>
    <a href="#lightbox">Open Lightbox</a>
    <div class="lightbox" id="lightbox">
      <figure>
        <a href="#" class="close"></a>
        <figcaption>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec felis enim, placerat id eleifend eu, semper vel sem.
        </figcaption>
      </figure>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>