CSS direction Property

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Example

Set the text direction to "right-to-left":

p.rtl {
direction: rtl;
}

Definition and Usage

The direction property specifies the text direction/writing direction within a block-level element.

Tip: Use this property together with the unicode-bidi property to set or return whether the text should be overridden to support multiple languages in the same document.

Show demo ❯

Default value:	ltr
Inherited:	yes
Animatable:	no. Read about animatable
Version:	CSS2
JavaScript syntax:	object.style.direction="rtl" Try it

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.

Property
direction	2.0	5.5	1.0	1.3	9.2

CSS Syntax

direction: ltr|rtl|initial|inherit;

Property Values

Value	Description	Demo
ltr	Text direction goes from left-to-right. This is default	Demo ❯
rtl	Text direction goes from right-to-left	Demo ❯
initial	Sets this property to its default value. Read about initial
inherit	Inherits this property from its parent element. Read about inherit

CSS tutorial: CSS Text Alignment

HTML DOM reference: direction property