CSS Active Removal

In web development, we often use CSS to beautify the styles of page elements. The :active pseudo-class is used to define the styles of elements activated by the user. When a user clicks an element, it enters the :active state, typically changing its appearance. However, sometimes we want to remove the :active style after the user clicks it. This requires some tricks to achieve this. This article details how to remove the :active style using CSS.

1. Removing the :active Style Using JavaScript

The first method is to remove the :active style using JavaScript. We can do this by listening for the element’s click event and removing the :active style upon click. Here is a sample code:

<!DOCTYPE html> 
<html lang="en"> 
<head> 
<meta charset="UTF-8"> 
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> 
<title>Remove Active Style</title> 
<style> 
.button:active { 
background-color: red; 
} 
</style> 
</head> 
<body> 
<button class="button" onclick="removeActiveStyle()">Click me</button> 

<script> 
function removeActiveStyle() { 
document.querySelector('.button').addEventListener('mouseup', function() { 
this.blur(); 
}); 
} 
</script> 
</body> 
</html>

Output:

CSS Active Remove

In the example above, we add the :active style to the button. When the user clicks the button, its background color changes to red. We then use JavaScript to listen for the button’s mouseup event and call the blur() method when the event is triggered to remove the :active style.

2. Use the :focus pseudo-class instead of the :active style

The second method is to use the :focus pseudo-class instead of the :active style. We can set the element’s tabindex attribute to make it focusable, and then use the :focus style to simulate the :active style. Here is a sample code:

<!DOCTYPE html> 
<html lang="en"> 
<head> 
<meta charset="UTF-8"> 
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> 
<title>Remove Active Style</title> 
<style> 
.button:focus { 
background-color: red; 
} 
</style> 
</head> 
<body> 
<button class="button" tabindex="0">Click me</button> 
</body> 
</html>

Output:

CSS Active Remove

In the example above, we add a :focus style to the button. When the button receives focus, its background color changes to red. By setting the button’s tabindex property to 0, we make it keyboard-focusable, thus simulating the :active style.

3. Remove the :active Style Using CSS Animation

The third method is to use CSS animation to remove the :active style. We can remove the :active style by setting a short animation effect. Here’s an example:

<!DOCTYPE html> 
<html lang="en"> 
<head> 
<meta charset="UTF-8"> 
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> 
<title>Remove Active Style</title> 
<style> 
.button:active { 
background-color: red; 
animation: removeActive 0.1s forwards; 
} 

@keyframes removeActive { 
to { 
background-color: initial; 
} 
} 
</style> 
</head> 
<body> 
<button class="button">Click me</button> 

</body> 

</html>

Output:

CSS Active Removal

In the example above, we add a :active style and an animation to the button. When the user clicks the button, the background color changes to red, and a CSS animation returns the background color to its original value after 0.1 seconds, removing the :active style.

4. Using CSS Variables to Remove the :active Style

The fourth method is to use CSS variables to remove the :active style. We can define a CSS variable to store the :active style, and then set the variable value to the initial value when we need to remove the :active style. Here is a sample code:

<!DOCTYPE html> 
<html lang="en"> 
<head> 
<meta charset="UTF-8"> 
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> 
<title>Remove Active Style</title> 
<style> 
:root { 
--active-color: red; 
} 

.button:active { 
background-color: var(--active-color); 
} 

.button.remove-active:active { 
--active-color: initial; 
} 
</style> 
</head> 
<body> 
<button class="button remove-active">Click me</button> 
</body> 
</html>

Output:

CSS Active Removal

In the example above, we define a variable named --active-color to store the color value of the :active style. When the user clicks the button, the button’s background color changes to the value of --active-color. Then, by adding the remove-active class to the button, we remove the :active style and set the value of --active-color to its initial value.

5. Remove the :active Style Using a CSS Pseudo-Element

The fifth method is to remove the :active style using a CSS pseudo-element. We can remove the :active style by using a pseudo-element within the :active style and then setting the styles within the pseudo-element to their initial values. Here is a sample code:

<!DOCTYPE html> 
<html lang="en"> 
<head> 
<meta charset="UTF-8"> 
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> 
<title>Remove Active Style</title> 
<style> 
.button:active::after { 
content: ''; 
display: block; 
width: 100%; 
height: 100%; 
background-color: red; 
} 

.button:active::after { 
background-color: initial; 
} 
</style> 
</head> 
<body> 
<button class="button">Click me</button> 
</body> 
</html>

Output:

CSS Active Remove

In the example above, we add a :active style to the button and use the ::after pseudo-element within the :active style to add a red background. We then remove the :active style by setting the background color to its initial value within the pseudo-element’s style.