Web/HTML/Element/pre

The HTML <pre> element represents preformatted text which is to be presented exactly as written in the HTML file. The text is typically rendered using a non-proportional ("monospace") font. Whitespace inside this element is displayed as written.

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Content categories	Flow content, palpable content.
Permitted content	Phrasing content.
Tag omission	None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory.
Permitted parents	Any element that accepts flow content.
Implicit ARIA role	No corresponding role
Permitted ARIA roles	Any
DOM interface	HTMLPreElement

Attributes

This element only includes the global attributes.

cols ' '

Contains the preferred count of characters that a line should have. It was a non-standard synonym of width. To achieve such an effect, use CSS width instead.

width '

Contains the preferred count of characters that a line should have. Though technically still implemented, this attribute has no visual effect; to achieve such an effect, use CSS width instead.

wrap '

Is a hint indicating how the overflow must happen. In modern browser this hint is ignored and no visual effect results in its present; to achieve such an effect, use CSS white-space instead.

Example

HTML

<p>Using CSS to change the font color is easy.</p>
<pre>
body {
  color: red;
}
</pre>

Accessibility concerns

It is important to provide an alternate description for any images or diagrams created using preformatted text. The alternate description should clearly and concisely describe the image or diagram's content.

People experiencing low vision conditions and browsing with the aid of assistive technology such as a screen reader may not understand what the preformatted text characters are representing when they are read out in sequence.

A combination of the <figure> and <figcaption> elements, supplemented by a combination of an id and the ARIA role and aria-labelledby attributes allow the preformatted text to be announced as an image, with the figcaption serving as the image's alternate description.

Example

<figure role="img" aria-labelledby="cow-caption">
  <pre>
  ___________________________
< I'm an expert in my field. >
  ---------------------------
         \   ^__^ 
          \  (oo)\_______
             (__)\       )\/\
                 ||----w |
                 ||     ||
  </pre>
  <figcaption id="cow-caption">
    A cow saying, "I'm an expert in my field." The cow is illustrated using preformatted text characters. 
  </figcaption>
</figure>

• MDN Understanding WCAG, Guideline 1.1 explanations
• H86: Providing text alternatives for ASCII art, emoticons, and leetspeak | W3C Techniques for WCAG 2.0

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of '<pre>' in that specification.	Living Standard	No significant change from HTML5
HTML5The definition of '<pre>' in that specification.	Recommendation	No significant change from HTML 4.01 Specification
HTML 4.01 SpecificationThe definition of '<pre>' in that specification.	Recommendation	Deprecated the cols attribute

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
pre	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
cols Deprecated'Non-standard'	Chrome No support No	Edge No support No	Firefox No support 1 — 29	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari No support No	WebView Android No support No	Chrome Android No support No	Firefox Android No support 4 — 29	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android No support No
width Deprecated'Non-standard'	Chrome Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	Edge Full support 12 Notes' Full support 12 Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	Firefox Full support 1 Notes' Full support 1 Notes' Notes' Since Firefox 29, specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	IE Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	Opera Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	Safari Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	WebView Android Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	Chrome Android Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	Firefox Android Full support 4 Notes' Full support 4 Notes' Notes' Since Firefox 29, specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	Opera Android Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	Safari iOS Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Specifying the width attribute has no layout effect.
wrap Deprecated'Non-standard'	Chrome ?	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 1	IE ?	Opera ?	Safari ?	WebView Android ?	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android ?

Legend

Full support  

Full support

No support  

No support

Compatibility unknown  

Compatibility unknown

Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.'

Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.

Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.'

Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.

See implementation notes.'

See implementation notes.

See also

• CSS: white-space, word-break
• Related element: <code>

<pre>: The Preformatted Text element by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.