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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 »