font-variant-alternates

The font-variant-alternates CSS property controls the usage of alternate glyphs. These alternate glyphs may be referenced by alternative names defined in @font-feature-values.

/* Keyword values */
font-variant-alternates: normal;
font-variant-alternates: historical-forms;

/* Functional notation values */
font-variant-alternates: stylistic(user-defined-ident);
font-variant-alternates: styleset(user-defined-ident);
font-variant-alternates: character-variant(user-defined-ident);
font-variant-alternates: swash(user-defined-ident);
font-variant-alternates: ornaments(user-defined-ident);
font-variant-alternates: annotation(user-defined-ident);
font-variant-alternates: swash(ident1) annotation(ident2);

/* Global values */
font-variant-alternates: initial;
font-variant-alternates: inherit;
font-variant-alternates: revert;
font-variant-alternates: unset;

The @font-feature-values at-rule can define names for alternative glyph functions (stylistic, styleset, character-variant, swash, ornament or annotation), associating the name with OpenType parameters. This property allows those human-readable names (defined in @font-feature-values) in the stylesheet.

Syntax

This property may take one of two forms:

  • either the keyword normal
  • or one or more of the other keywords and functions listed below, space-separated, in any order.

Values

normal

This keyword deactivates alternate glyphs.

historical-forms

This keyword enables historical forms — glyphs that were common in the past but not today. It corresponds to the OpenType value hist.

stylistic()

This function enables stylistic alternates for individual characters. The parameter is a font-specific name mapped to a number. It corresponds to the OpenType value salt, like salt 2.

styleset()

This function enables stylistic alternatives for sets of characters. The parameter is a font-specific name mapped to a number. It corresponds to the OpenType value ssXY, like ss02.

character-variant()

This function enables specific stylistic alternatives for characters. It is similar to styleset(), but doesn't create coherent glyphs for a set of characters; individual characters will have independent and not necessarily coherent styles. The parameter is a font-specific name mapped to a number. It corresponds to the OpenType value cvXY, like cv02.

swash()

This function enables swash glyphs. The parameter is a font-specific name mapped to a number. It corresponds to the OpenType values swsh and cswh, like swsh 2 and cswh 2.

ornaments()

This function enables ornaments, like fleurons and other dingbat glyphs. The parameter is a font-specific name mapped to a number. It corresponds to the OpenType value ornm, like ornm 2.

Note: In order to preserve text semantics, font designers should include ornaments that don't match Unicode dingbat characters as ornamental variants of the bullet character (U+2022). Be aware that some existing fonts don't follow this advice.

annotation()

This function enables annotations, like circled digits or inverted characters. The parameter is a font-specific name mapped to a number. It corresponds to the OpenType value nalt, like nalt 2.

Formal definition

Initial valuenormal
Applies toall elements. It also applies to ::first-letter and ::first-line.
Inheritedyes
Computed valueas specified
Animation typediscrete

Formal syntax

normal | [ stylistic( <feature-value-name> ) || historical-forms || styleset( <feature-value-name># ) || character-variant( <feature-value-name># ) || swash( <feature-value-name> ) || ornaments( <feature-value-name> ) || annotation( <feature-value-name> ) ]
where 
<feature-value-name> = <custom-ident>

Examples

HTML

<p>Firefox rocks!</p>
<p class="variant">Firefox rocks!</p>

CSS

@font-feature-values "Leitura Display Swashes" {
    @swash { fancy: 1 }
}

p {
  font-size: 1.5rem;
}

.variant {
  font-family: Leitura Display Swashes;
  font-variant-alternates: swash(fancy);
}

Result

Note: You need to install the OpenType font Leitura Display Swashes for this example to work. You can find a few free versions for testing purposes, for example from fontsgeek.com.

Specifications

Not part of any standard.

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See Also