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CSS :link, :visited, :hover, :active
The CSS anchor pseudo-classes are used when we need to change the state of a link when a user interacts with it.
List of Anchor Pseudo Classes
- :link: used to apply styles to non-visited links
- :visited: used to apply styles to visited links
- :hover: used to apply styles when the mouse cursor moves over the link
- :active: used to apply styles to an active link. A link becomes active when the user clicks on it.
CSS :link, :visited, :hover, :active Example
Consider the following code as an example demonstrating the anchor pseudo class in CSS:
HTML with CSS Code
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <style> a:link {text-decoration: none;} a:visited {color: red;} a:hover {text-decoration: underline; color: purple;} a:active {color: yellow;} </style> </head> <body> <p>This is a <a href="#">link</a></p> <p>This is another <a href="#">link</a></p> </body> </html>
Output
Here is an explanation of all the anchor pseudo-classes used in the above example.
- a:link is used to style links that have not been visited. In this case, it sets the text-decoration to none, which removes the underline typically associated with links.
- a:visited is used to style links that have been visited. In this case, it sets the color to red, indicating that the link has been visited.
- a:hover is used to style links when the mouse cursor hovers over them. In this case, it sets the text-decoration to underline and the color to purple, creating an underline effect and changing the link color to purple.
- a:active is used to style links when they are being clicked. In this case, it sets the color to yellow, indicating that the link is currently active.
Before closing the discussion on anchor pseudo-classes in CSS, I'm willing to include one more example that might help you more with the topic.
HTML with JavaScript Code
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <style> /* Styling for regular (unvisited) links */ a:link { color: #333; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px solid #333; } /* Styling for visited links */ a:visited { color: #999; } /* Styling for links when hovered over with the mouse */ a:hover { color: #f00; border-color: #f00; } /* Styling for links that have been clicked on */ a:active { color: #0f0; border-color: #0f0; } </style> </head> <body> <!-- Example links using the anchor pseudo-classes --> <p>Click <a href="#">here</a> to see a regular (unvisited) link.</p> <p>Click <a href="#">here</a> to see a visited link.</p> <p>Click <a href="#">here</a> to see a link when hovered over with the mouse.</p> <p>Click <a href="#">here</a> to see a link that has been clicked on.</p> </body> </html>
Output
Click here to see a regular (unvisited) link.
Click here to see a visited link.
Click here to see a link when hovered over with the mouse.
Click here to see a link that has been clicked on.
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