How to Style JSF-Generated HTML Elements with Colons in Their IDs Using CSS?

Using JSF-Generated HTML Element IDs with Colon (":") in CSS Selectors

When working with JSF, you may encounter a situation where the JSF-generated HTML element ID has a colon (":") in it, causing problems when using CSS selectors. The colon is a special character in CSS identifiers, as it represents the start of a pseudo class selector like :hover, :first-child, etc.

Escaping the Colon

To use a JSF-generated ID with a colon in CSS, you can escape it using one of the following methods:

• Replace the colon with "3A" (with a trailing space):

  #phoneFormA phoneTable {
    background: pink;
  }

• Replace the colon with ":" (for all browsers except IE6/7):

  #phoneForm\:phoneTable {
    background: pink;
  }

Alternative Approaches

Besides escaping the colon, there are other approaches to address this issue:

1. Wrap in a Plain HTML Element:

   Wrap the JSF element in a plain HTML element and style the wrapper instead.

2. Use CSS Class:

   Assign a CSS class to the JSF element instead of using an ID.

3. Modify UINamingContainer Separator (JSF 2.x only):

   Change the UINamingContainer separator character in web.xml to a character other than ":".

4. Disable Prepending of Form ID (JSF 1.2 only):

   Disable prepending of the form ID for the specific form that generates the problematic element.

Recommended Solution:

In most cases, wrapping the JSF element in a CSS class is the most appropriate solution. It provides better flexibility and reusability, and it avoids potential issues with certain approaches like disabling prepending of the form ID.

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