display Attribute | display Property

Sets or retrieves whether the object is rendered.

What's New for Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6

This property supports the list-item value.

Syntax

HTML { display : sDisplay }
Scripting object.style.display [ = sDisplay ]

Possible Values

sDisplay String that specifies or receives one of the following values.
block Object is rendered as a block element.
none Object is not rendered.
inline Default. Object is rendered as an inline element sized by the dimensions of the content.
inline-block Object is rendered inline, but the contents of the object are rendered as a block element. Adjacent inline elements are rendered on the same line, space permitting.
list-item Internet Explorer 6 and later. Object is rendered as a block element, and a list-item marker is added.
table-header-group Table header is always displayed before all other rows and row groups, and after any top captions. The header is displayed on each page spanned by a table.
table-footer-group Table footer is always displayed after all other rows and row groups, and before any bottom captions. The footer is displayed on each page spanned by a table.
The property is read/write for all objects except the following, for which it is read-only: currentStyle. The property has a default value of inline for all objects with the following exceptions:
ADDRESS block
BLOCKQUOTE block
BODY block
CENTER block
COL block
COLGROUP block
DD block
DIR block
DIV block
DL block
DT block
FIELDSET block
FORM block
FRAME none
hn block
HR block
IFRAME block
LEGEND block
LI list-item
LISTING block
MARQUEE block
MENU block
OL block
P block
PLAINTEXT block
PRE block
TABLE block
TBODY none
TD block
TFOOT none
TH block
THEAD none
TR block
UL block
XMP block
The Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) attribute is not inherited.
Expressions can be used in place of the preceding value(s), as of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5. For more information, see About Dynamic Properties.

Remarks

In Internet Explorer 4.0, the block, inline, and list-item values are not supported explicitly, but do render the element.
The block and inline values are supported explicitly as of Internet Explorer 5.
In Internet Explorer 5.5 and earlier, the default value of this property for li elements is block.
The inline-block value is supported as of Internet Explorer 5.5. You can use this value to give an object a layout without specifying the object's height or width.
All visible HTML?A HREF="../objects.html">objects are block or inline. For example, a div object is a block element, and a span object is an inline element. Block elements typically start a new line and can contain other block elements and inline elements. Inline elements do not typically start a new line and can contain other inline elements or data. Changing the values for the display property affects the layout of the surrounding content by:
Adding a new line after the element with the value block.
Removing a line from the element with the value inline.
Hiding the data for the element with the value none.
In contrast to the visibility property, display??SPAN CLASS="clsLiteral">none reserves no space for the object on the screen.
The table-header-group and table-footer-group values can be used to specify that the contents of the tHead and tFoot objects are displayed on every page for a table that spans multiple pages.

Examples

This example shows the effect of changing the values for the display property between inline, block, and none.
<SPAN ID=oSpan>
This is a SPAN
</SPAN>
in a sentence.
<P>
<INPUT TYPE=button VALUE="Block"
onclick="oSpan.style.display='block'">
:
This feature requires Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5 or later. Click the following icon to install the latest version. Then reload this page to view the sample.
This example uses function calls to hide and show table rows and cells.
<SCRIPT>
function getPets()
{
oRow1Cell2.style.display="none";
oRow2Cell2.style.display="block";
oRow3Cell2.style.display="none";
}
</SCRIPT>
:
<TABLE>
<TR ID="oRow1"><TD>Horses</TD>
<TD ID="oRow1Cell2">Thoroughbreds</TD>
<TD>Fast</TD></TR>
<TR ID="oRow2"><TD>Dogs</TD>
<TD ID="oRow2Cell2">Greyhounds</TD>
<TD>Fast</TD></TR>
<TR ID="oRow3"><TD>Marsupials</TD>
<TD ID="oRow3Cell2">Opossums</TD>
<TD>Slow</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
:
<INPUT TYPE=button onclick="getPets()"
VALUE="Show household pets">
This feature requires Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. Click the following icon to install the latest version. Then reload this page to view the sample.

Standards Information

This property is defined in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Level 1 (CSS1) .

Applies To

A, ACRONYM, ADDRESS, APPLET, B, BDO, BIG, BLOCKQUOTE, BODY, BR, BUTTON, CAPTION, CENTER, CITE, CODE, COL, COLGROUP, currentStyle, CUSTOM, DD, defaults, DEL, DFN, DIR, DIV, DL, DT, EM, EMBED, FIELDSET, FONT, FORM, FRAME, hn, HR, HTML, I, IFRAME, IMG, INPUT type=button, INPUT type=checkbox, INPUT type=file, INPUT type=image, INPUT type=password, INPUT type=radio, INPUT type=reset, INPUT type=submit, INPUT type=text, INS, KBD, LABEL, LEGEND, LI, LISTING, MARQUEE, MENU, NOBR, OBJECT, OL, P, PLAINTEXT, PRE, Q, RT, RUBY, S, SAMP, SELECT, SMALL, SPAN, STRIKE, STRONG, style, SUB, SUP, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TEXTAREA, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TR, TT, U, UL, VAR, XMP