CSS3 Animations

CSS3 Animations

CSS3 animations allows animation of most HTML elements without using JavaScript or Flash!

CSS3
Animation

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Browser Support for Animations

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.

Numbers followed by -webkit-, -moz-, or -o- specify the first version that worked with a prefix.

Property
@keyframes	10.0	4.0 -webkit-	16.0 5.0 -moz-	4.0 -webkit-	15.0 -webkit- 12.1 12.0 -o-
animation	10.0	4.0 -webkit-	16.0 5.0 -moz-	4.0 -webkit-	15.0 -webkit- 12.1 12.0 -o-

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What are CSS3 Animations?

An animation lets an element gradually change from one style to another.

You can change as many CSS properties you want, as many times you want.

To use CSS3 animation, you must first specify some keyframes for the animation.

Keyframes hold what styles the element will have at certain times.

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The @keyframes Rule

When you specify CSS styles inside the @keyframes rule, the animation will gradually change from the current style to the new style at certain times.

To get an animation to work, you must bind the animation to an element.

The following example binds the "example" animation to the <div> element. The animation will lasts for 4 seconds, and it will gradually change the background-color of the <div> element from "red" to "yellow":

Example

/* The animation code */ @keyframes example {
    from {background-color: red;}
    to {background-color: yellow;}
}

/* The element to apply the animation to */ div {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    background-color: red;
    animation-name: example;
    animation-duration: 4s;
}

Note: If the animation-duration property is not specified, the animation will have no effect, because the default value is 0. 

In the example above we have specified when the style will change by using the keywords "from" and "to" (which represents 0% (start) and 100% (complete)).

It is also possible to use percent. By using percent, you can add as many style changes as you like.

The following example will change the background-color of the <div> element when the animation is 25% complete, 50% complete, and again when the animation is 100% complete:

Example

/* The animation code */
@keyframes example {
    0%   {background-color: red;}
    25%  {background-color: yellow;}
    50%  {background-color: blue;}
    100% {background-color: green;}
}

/* The element to apply the animation to */
div {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    background-color: red;
    animation-name: example;
    animation-duration: 4s;
}

The following example will change both the background-color and the position of the <div> element when the animation is 25% complete, 50% complete, and again when the animation is 100% complete:

Example

/* The animation code */
@keyframes example {
    0%   {background-color: red; left:0px; top:0px;}
    25%  {background-color: yellow; left:200px; top:0px;}
    50%  {background-color: blue; left:200px; top:200px;}
    75%  {background-color: green; left:0px; top:200px;}
    100% {background-color: red; left:0px; top:0px;}
}

/* The element to apply the animation to */
div {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    position: relative;
    background-color: red;
    animation-name: example;
    animation-duration: 4s;
}

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Delay an Animation

The animation-delay property specifies a delay for the start of an animation.

The following example has a 2 seconds delay before starting the animation:

Example

div {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    position: relative;
    background-color: red;
    animation-name: example;
    animation-duration: 4s;
    animation-delay: 2s;
}

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Set How Many Times an Animation Should Run

The animation-iteration-count property specifies the number of times an animation should run.

The following example will run the animation 3 times before it stops:

Example

div {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    position: relative;
    background-color: red;
    animation-name: example;
    animation-duration: 4s;
    animation-iteration-count: 3;
}

The following example uses the value "infinite" to make the animation continue for ever:

Example

div {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    position: relative;
    background-color: red;
    animation-name: example;
    animation-duration: 4s;
    animation-iteration-count: infinite;
}

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Run Animation in Reverse Direction or Alternate Cycles

The animation-direction property is used to let an animation run in reverse direction or alternate cycles.

The following example will run the animation in reverse direction:

Example

div {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    position: relative;
    background-color: red;
    animation-name: example;
    animation-duration: 4s;
    animation-iteration-count: 3;
    animation-direction: reverse;
}

The following example uses the value "alternate" to make the animation first run forward, then backward, then forward:

Example

div {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    position: relative;
    background-color: red;
    animation-name: example;
    animation-duration: 4s;
    animation-iteration-count: 3;
    animation-direction: alternate;
}

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Specify the Speed Curve of the Animation

The animation-timing-function property specifies the speed curve of the animation.

The animation-timing-function property can have the following values:

• ease - specifies an animation with a slow start, then fast, then end slowly (this is default)
• linear - specifies an animation with the same speed from start to end
• ease-in - specifies an animation with a slow start
• ease-out - specifies an animation with a slow end
• ease-in-out - specifies an animation with a slow start and end
• cubic-bezier(n,n,n,n) - lets you define your own values in a cubic-bezier function

The following example shows the some of the different speed curves that can be used:

Example

#div1 {animation-timing-function: linear;}
#div2 {animation-timing-function: ease;}
#div3 {animation-timing-function: ease-in;}
#div4 {animation-timing-function: ease-out;}
#div5 {animation-timing-function: ease-in-out;}

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Animation Shorthand Property

The example below uses six of the animation properties:

Example

div {
    animation-name: example;
    animation-duration: 5s;
    animation-timing-function: linear;
    animation-delay: 2s;
    animation-iteration-count: infinite;
    animation-direction: alternate;
}

The same animation effect as above can be achieved by using the shorthand animation property:

Example

div {
    animation: example 5s linear 2s infinite alternate;
}

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CSS3 Animation Properties

The following table lists the @keyframes rule and all the animation properties:

Property	Description
@keyframes	Specifies the animation code
animation	A shorthand property for setting all the animation properties (except animation-play-state and animation-fill-mode)
animation-delay	Specifies a delay for the start of an animation
animation-direction	Specifies whether an animation should play in reverse direction or alternate cycles
animation-duration	Specifies how many seconds or milliseconds an animation takes to complete one cycle
animation-fill-mode	Specifies a style for the element when the animation is not playing (when it is finished, or when it has a delay)
animation-iteration-count	Specifies the number of times an animation should be played
animation-name	Specifies the name of the @keyframes animation
animation-play-state	Specifies whether the animation is running or paused
animation-timing-function	Specifies the speed curve of the animation