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Style background Property

❮ Style Object

Example

Style the background of a document:

document.body.style.background = "#f3f3f3 url('img_tree.png') no-repeat right top";
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More "Try it Yourself" examples below.


Definition and Usage

The background property sets or returns up to eight separate background properties, in a shorthand form.

With this property, you can set/return one or more of the following (in any order):

  • background-color
  • background-image
  • background-repeat
  • background-attachment
  • background-position
  • background-size
  • background-origin
  • background-clip

The properties above can also be set with separate style properties. The use of separate properties is highly recommended for non-advanced authors for better controllability.


Browser Support

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

Property
background 1.0 4.0 1.0 1.0 3.5

Note: See individual browser support for each value below.


Syntax

Return the background property:

object.style.background

Set the background property:

object.style.background = "color image repeat attachment position size origin clip|initial|inherit"

Property Values

Value Description
color Sets the background color of an element
image Sets the background image for an element
repeat Sets how a background image will be repeated
attachment Sets whether a background image is fixed or scrolls with the page
position Sets the starting position of a background image
size Sets the size of a background image
origin Sets the background positioning area
clip Sets the painting area of a background image
initial Sets this property to its default value. Read about initial
inherit Inherits this property from its parent element. Read about inherit

Technical Details

Default Value: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0% auto padding-box border-box
Return Value: A String, representing the background of an element
CSS Version CSS1 + new properties in CSS3

More Examples

Example

Change the background of a DIV element:

document.getElementById("myDIV").style.background = "url('smiley.gif') blue repeat-x center";
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Example

Set a background color for a document:

document.body.style.backgroundColor = "red";
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Example

Set a background image for a document:

document.body.style.backgroundImage = "url('img_tree.png')";
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Example

Set a background-image to no-repeat:

document.body.style.backgroundRepeat = "repeat-y";
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Example

Set the background-image to be fixed (will not scroll):

document.body.style.backgroundAttachment = "fixed";
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Example

Change the position of a background-image:

document.body.style.backgroundPosition = "top right";
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Example

Return the background property values of a document:

document.body.style.background;
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Related Pages

CSS tutorial: CSS Background

CSS3 tutorial: CSS3 Backgrounds

CSS reference: background property


❮ Style Object