CSS tab-size

The tab-size property determines the length of the space used by the tab (U+0009) character.

This can be especially helpful when presenting content such as computer code where there could be many lines of indentation.

Syntax

Possible Values

<integer>: Represents the measure as multiples of the space character's advance width (U+0020). Must not be a negative value.
<length>: Represents the absolute length of the tab size. Must not be a negative value.

In addition, all CSS properties also accept the following CSS-wide keyword values as the sole component of their property value:

initial: Represents the value specified as the property's initial value.
inherit: Represents the computed value of the property on the element's parent.
unset: This value acts as either inherit or initial, depending on whether the property is inherited or not. In other words, it sets all properties to their parent value if they are inheritable or to their initial value if not inheritable.

Basic Property Information

Initial Value: 8
Applies To: Block containers.
Inherited?: Yes
Media: Visual
Animatable: Yes (see example)

Example Code

Basic CSS

Working Example within an HTML Document

View Output Full Screen Preview

CSS Specifications

The tab-size property is defined in CSS Text Module Level 3.

Browser Support

Browser support for CSS properties can vary, particularly for newer or experimental features. Check current browser compatibility before using a property in production, especially when supporting older browsers.

The following table provided by Caniuse.com shows the level of browser support for this feature.

Initial Value

CSS properties have an initial value that applies when the property has not been explicitly set. The initial value is different from the value inherited from a parent element and may vary between properties.

Inheritance

Some CSS properties inherit their computed value from their parent element by default, while others do not. The inherit, initial, unset, and revert keywords can also be used to control how a property gets its value.

Vendor Prefixes

Most modern CSS properties use the standard, unprefixed syntax. Vendor-prefixed properties such as -webkit- are mainly relevant to older browser versions or specific features and should only be used when required by your browser support targets.