HTML <pre> Tag
Example
Preformatted text:
<pre>
Text in a pre element
is displayed in a fixed-width
font, and it preserves
both
spaces and
line breaks
</pre>
Try it yourself »
Definition and Usage
The <pre> tag defines preformatted text.
Text in a <pre> element is displayed in a fixed-width font (usually Courier), and it preserves both spaces and line breaks.
Browser Support
| Element | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <pre> | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Tips and Notes
Tip: Use the <pre> element when displaying text with unusual formatting, or some sort of computer code.
Differences Between HTML 4.01 and HTML5
The "width" attribute is not supported in HTML5.
Attributes
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| width | number | Not supported in HTML5. Specifies the maximum number of characters per line |
Global Attributes
The <pre> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.
Event Attributes
The <pre> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.
Related Pages
HTML Tutorial: HTML Text Formatting
HTML DOM reference: Pre Object
Default CSS Settings
Most browsers will display the <pre> element with the following default values:
Example
pre {
display: block;
font-family: monospace;
white-space: pre;
margin: 1em 0;
}
Try it yourself »
