Can Inline CSS Style HTML Pseudo-elements?

Styling Pseudo-Elements with Inline CSS: Limitations and Alternatives

Incorporating pseudo-elements like ::before and ::after into HTML email signatures with inline CSS can be a common question. However, it's essential to understand the limitations of applying inline styles to pseudo-elements.

Can You Use Pseudo-Elements with Inline CSS?

Unfortunately, directly specifying inline styles for pseudo-elements is not possible. This is because pseudo-elements exist as abstractions within the CSS tree structure that are not represented in the HTML code. Inline styles, defined within HTML, apply only to the HTML elements they are defined on.

Example:

td {
  text-align: justify;
}

td::after {
  content: "";
  display: inline-block;
  width: 100%;
}

While the td element here inherits the text-align property, the inline style for td::after is invalid and will not be applied.

Different Behavior of Pseudo-Elements and Pseudo-Classes

While pseudo-elements and pseudo-classes are both used in CSS to target specific aspects of the document tree, they behave differently with inheritance. Inherited properties may be applied to pseudo-elements (::before and ::after) from their generating element, but not to pseudo-classes.

Alternative Styling Methods:

If you wish to style pseudo-elements, you will need to use external CSS instead of inline styles. This allows you to target pseudo-elements independently and apply the desired styling.

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