How Can I Style Individual Characters in Web Content Using CSS and JavaScript?

Customizing the Look of Specific Characters with CSS

Targeting individual characters using CSS might seem like an impractical aspiration. However, there are ingenious workarounds to achieve this effect, particularly when paired with JavaScript.

Consider a scenario where you want to highlight all instances of the letter "z" in red within paragraphs. Or, in the context of music notation, you may wish to align vertically all superscript "7" characters within elements belonging to the "chord" class.

While pure CSS cannot directly address this challenge, a hybrid approach can provide a satisfying solution. The following code demonstrates how this can be accomplished:

CSS

span.highlight {
  background: #F60;
  padding: 5px;
  display: inline-block;
  color: #FFF;
}

p {
  font-family: Verdana;
}

HTML

<p>
  Let's go Zapata let's do it for the revolution, Zapatistas!!!
</p>

JavaScript

jQuery.fn.highlight = function(str, className) {
  var regex = new RegExp(str, "gi");

  return this.each(function() {
    this.innerHTML = this.innerHTML.replace(regex, function(matched) {
      return "<span class=\"" + className + "\">" + matched + "</span>";
    });
  });
};

$("p").highlight("Z", "highlight");

This JavaScript code leverages the jQuery library to search for and replace matching text with HTML markup that includes a custom class for styling. In this example, the class "highlight" is assigned to all "Z" characters within paragraph elements.

Result

By combining these components, the desired effect can be achieved. For instance, the text "Zapata Zapatistas!!!" will display with all "Z" characters highlighted in red.

This approach, while not directly supported by CSS, allows for greater customization of individual characters within web content.

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