How to workaround: IE6 does not support CSS "attribute" selectors

One of the projects which I am working uses CSS "attribute" selector [att]

CSS Selectors

which is not supported by ie6: Support for CSS selectors in IE6 (look for text "Attribute Selectors")

Is there any workaround/hack which is of course valid html/css to overcome this problem?

Upvotes: 14

Answers (7)

kzh

Reputation: 20598

You can use Internet Explorer CSS expressions combined with the safe underscore ("_", IE6 and earlier) CSS hack:

/* Adds dotted bottom border to `<ABBR>` with a `title` attribute. */
abbr {
        _border-bottom: expression(this.title ? '1px dotted' : 'none');
}

abbr[title] {
        border-bottom: 1px dotted;
}

I do understand, that you did ask for "valid" CSS, but if the CSS hack above freaks you out, please read about Safe CSS Hacks.

The above could be changed to:

.ie6 abbr {
        _border-bottom: expression(this.title ? '1px dotted' : 'none');
}

abbr[title] {
        border-bottom: 1px dotted;
}

That is if your HTML began as:

<!--[if lt IE 7]><html class="ie6"><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]>   <html class="ie7"><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 8]>   <html class="ie8"><![endif]-->
<!--[if gt IE 8]><!--><html><!--<![endif]-->

Upvotes: 6

Chris Patterson

Reputation:

If you're using jQuery on your site, another option is SuperSelectors - it goes through your site’s stylesheets, dynamically adding classes to elements so that even IE6 can bask in the glow of properly supporting CSS selectors like ul li:first-child li:nth-child(odd) a:hover.

Upvotes: 0

Dels

Reputation: 2425

If you want attribute selector in IE6, you can use Dean Edward IE.js. http://dean.edwards.name/IE7/

That will make IE 5+ behave much more like IE7

supports the following CSS selectors: 
parent > child
adjacent + sibling
adjacent ~ sibling
[attr], [attr="value"], [attr~="value"] etc
.multiple.classes (fixes bug)
:hover, :active, :focus (for all elements)
:first-child, :last-child, only-child, nth-child, nth-last-child
:checked, :disabled, :enabled
:empty, :contains(), :not()
:before/:after/content:
:lang()

I didn't have IE6 (use IE7) so i can't said it worked, but give it a try

Upvotes: 8

Simon Lieschke

Reputation: 13334

Dean Edwards' IE7 JavaScript library provides attribute selector support for IE 5 and 6.

Upvotes: 5

nickf

Reputation: 546045

This isn't possible without peppering your HTML with a stack of extraneous class selectors, sadly.

I'd recommend designing your site so that your entirely valid CSS works for people using modern browsers, and that it's still usable in the IE6, albeit visually not quite right. You just have to find the right balance between getting your site up to standard and bending over backwards for users who won't upgrade. It's a broken browser, treat it as such.

Upvotes: 26