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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>
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More "Try it Yourself" examples below.


Definition and Usage

The <pre> tag defines preformatted text.

Text in a <pre> element is displayed in a fixed-width font, and the text preserves both spaces and line breaks. The text will be displayed exactly as written in the HTML source code.

Also look at:

Tag Description
<code> Defines a piece of computer code
<samp> Defines sample output from a computer program
<kbd> Defines keyboard input
<var> Defines a variable

Browser Support

Element
<pre> Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes


Global Attributes

The <pre> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.


Event Attributes

The <pre> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.


More Examples

Example

How to create a pre-formatted text with a fixed width (with CSS):

<div style="width:200px;overflow:auto">
<pre>This is a pre with a fixed width. It will use as much space as specified.</pre>
</div>
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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;
}
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