Is it possible to set the stacking order of pseudo-elements below their parent element?

CssZ IndexPseudo Element

Css Problem Overview


I am trying to style a element with the :after pseudo element CSS selector

#element {
    position: relative;
    z-index: 1;
}

#element::after {
    position:relative;
    z-index: 0;
    content: " ";
    position: absolute;
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
}

It seems like the ::after element can not be lower then the element itself.

Is there a way to have the pseudo element lower then the element itself?

Css Solutions


Solution 1 - Css

Pseudo-elements are treated as descendants of their associated element. To position a pseudo-element below its parent, you have to create a new stacking context to change the default stacking order.
Positioning the pseudo-element (absolute) and assigning a z-index value other than “auto” creates the new stacking context.

#element { 
    position: relative;  /* optional */
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    background-color: blue;
}

#element::after {
    content: "";
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    background-color: red;

    /* create a new stacking context */
    position: absolute;
    z-index: -1;  /* to be below the parent element */
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>Position a pseudo-element below its parent</title>
</head>
<body>
  <div id="element">
  </div>
</body>
</html>

Solution 2 - Css

I know this is an old thread, but I feel the need to post the proper answer. The actual answer to this question is that you need to create a new stacking context on the parent of the element with the pseudo element (and you actually have to give it a z-index, not just a position).

Like this:

#parent {
    position: relative;
    z-index: 1;
}
#pseudo-parent {
    position: absolute;
    /* no z-index allowed */
}
#pseudo-parent:after {
    position: absolute;
    top:0;
    z-index: -1;
}

It has nothing to do with using :before or :after pseudo elements.

#parent { position: relative; z-index: 1; }
#pseudo-parent { position: absolute; } /* no z-index required */
#pseudo-parent:after { position: absolute; z-index: -1; }

/* Example styling to illustrate */
#pseudo-parent { background: #d1d1d1; }
#pseudo-parent:after { margin-left: -3px; content: "M" }

<div id="parent">
 <div id="pseudo-parent">
   &nbsp;
 </div>
</div>

Solution 3 - Css

Try it out

el {
  transform-style: preserve-3d;
}
el:after {
  transform: translateZ(-1px);
}

Solution 4 - Css

There are two issues are at play here:

  1. The CSS 2.1 specification states that "The :beforeand :after pseudo-elements elements interact with other boxes, such as run-in boxes, as if they were real elements inserted just inside their associated element." Given the way z-indexes are implemented in most browsers, it's pretty difficult (read, I don't know of a way) to move content lower than the z-index of their parent element in the DOM that works in all browsers.

  2. Number 1 above does not necessarily mean it's impossible, but the second impediment to it is actually worse: Ultimately it's a matter of browser support. Firefox didn't support positioning of generated content at all until FF3.6. Who knows about browsers like IE. So even if you can find a hack to make it work in one browser, it's very likely it will only work in that browser.

The only thing I can think of that's going to work across browsers is to use javascript to insert the element rather than CSS. I know that's not a great solution, but the :before and :after pseudo-selectors just really don't look like they're gonna cut it here.

Solution 5 - Css

Speaking with regard to the spec (http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/zindex.html), since a.someSelector is positioned it creates a new stacking context that its children can't break out of. Leave a.someSelector unpositioned and then child a.someSelector:after may be positioned in the same context as a.someSelector.

Solution 6 - Css

I know this question is ancient and has an accepted answer, but I found a better solution to the problem. I am posting it here so I don't create a duplicate question, and the solution is still available to others.

Switch the order of the elements. Use the :before pseudo-element for the content that should be underneath, and adjust margins to compensate. The margin cleanup can be messy, but the desired z-index will be preserved.

I've tested this with IE8 and FF3.6 successfully.

Solution 7 - Css

Set the z-index of the :before or :after pseudo element to -1 and give it a position that honors the z-index property (absolute, relative, or fixed). This works because the pseudo element's z-index is relative to its parent element, rather than <html>, which is the default for other elements. Which makes sense because they are child elements of <html>.

The problem I was having (that lead me to this question and the accepted answer above) was that I was trying to use a :after pseudo element to get fancy with a background to an element with z-index of 15, and even when set with a z-index of 14, it was still being rendered on top of its parent. This is because, in that stacking context, it's parent has a z-index of 0.

Hopefully that helps clarify a little what's going on.

Solution 8 - Css

I fixed it very simple:

.parent {
  position: relative;
  z-index: 1;
}
    
.child {
  position: absolute;
  z-index: -1;
}

What this does is stack the parent at z-index: 1, which gives the child room to 'end up' at z-index: 0 since other dom elements 'exist' on z-index: 0. If we don't give the parent an z-index of 1 the child will end up below the other dom elements and thus will not be visible.

This also works for pseudo elements like :after

Solution 9 - Css

I don't know if someone will have the same issue with this. The selected answer is partially correct.

What you need to have is:

parent{
  z-index: 1;
}
child{
 position:relative;
 backgr

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