CSS Pocket Reference, 3rd Edition

Name

line-height

Values:

<length> | <percentage> | <number> | normal | inherit

Initial value:

normal

Applies to:

All elements (but see text regarding replaced and block-level elements).

Inherited:

Yes.

Percentages:

Relative to the font size of the element.

Computed value:

For length and percentage values, the absolute value; otherwise, as specified.

Description:

This property influences the layout of line boxes. When applied to a block-level element, it defines the minimum (but not the maximum) distance between baselines within that element. The difference between the computed values of line-height and font-size (called “leading” in CSS) is split in half and added to the top and bottom of each piece of content in a line of text. The shortest box that can enclose all those pieces of content is the line box. A raw number value assigns a scaling factor, which is inherited instead of a computed value. Negative values are not permitted.

Examples:

p {line-height: 1.5em;}
h2 {line-height: 200%;}
ul {line-height: 1.2;}
pre {line-height: 0.75em;}

Supported by:

Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari.