When to Utilize !important in CSS

Consider the following scenario:

#div p {<pre class="brush:php;toolbar:false">color: red !important;

}
...

div p {

color: blue;

}

We understand how the !important property works. In this instance, the div will be displayed in red because it now has a higher priority due to the !important designation. However, we struggle to envision a suitable situation to use it in. Are there any specific examples where !important would be beneficial?

Real-Life Scenario

Imagine a scenario where:

A global CSS file defines the site's visual aspects.
Inline styles are used on elements, which is generally discouraged.

In such cases, !important can be applied to certain styles in the global CSS file, effectively overriding the inline styles applied to those elements.

Actual Real-World Example

This situation commonly arises when full control over HTML is unavailable, such as in SharePoint solutions. You may desire globally defined styles, but inline styles that cannot be controlled are present. The use of !important facilitates the handling of such situations.

Determining When to Use !important

As a recommendation, !important should only be employed as a last resort. It is advisable to avoid its use whenever possible. Overuse of !important styles can impede maintenance, disrupting the inherent cascading mechanism in stylesheets.

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