Ways to incorporate text as a background instead of relying on an image in CSS

As the title suggests, I am trying to figure out how to use text as a background instead of an image for my little application. I am currently customizing a drop-down button by changing the button to an upside-down triangle using HTML code ▼. Instead of adjusting the z-index or using any complex methods, I simply want to place a character to represent the arrow. I considered leaving it blank, but I believe users might be confused about the purpose of the menu. Therefore, I have decided to use the upside-down triangle.

Here is the CSS code I am using for the drop-down list:

select {
 border: none;
 overflow: hidden;
 background: no-repeat right #ffffff;
-moz-appearance: none;
-webkit-appearance: none;
text-indent: 0.01px;
text-overflow: '';
}

Answer №1

Enclose the text within an HTML tag using the class .text-background, apply the following CSS styles:

.text-background {
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 1;
}

Ensure that the elements you wish to have on top of the text have a higher z-index value than 1.

edit:

If you know the size of the select element, you may want to position the text over the dropdown, although this may block the button.

JSFiddle

To achieve better aesthetics and functionality, consider using third-party libraries like this one or this one.

edit 2: For a CSS-only solution that may better suit your requirements, refer to the method suggested by Danield.

Answer №2

One way to achieve this effect is by using CSS to set text as the background. Here's a suggestion from an individual named Paulo Bergantino:

JS Fiddle Check it out here

Here is the HTML code:

<div id="container">
<div id="background">
Text you want as your background
</div>
Normal content of the page
</div>

And the corresponding CSS code:

#container{
position: relative;
}
#background{
position: absolute;
top: 0;
left: 0;
bottom: 0;
right: 0;
z-index: -1;
overflow: hidden;
}

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