How to remove only underline from a:before?
Solution 1:
Is it possible to remove this?
Yes, if you change the display style of the inline element from display:inline (the default) to display:inline-block:
#test p a:before {
color: #B2B2B2;
content: "► ";
display:inline-block;
}
This is because the CSS specs say:
When specified on or propagated to an inline element, it affects all the boxes generated by that element, and is further propagated to any in-flow block-level boxes that split the inline (see section 9.2.1.1). […] For all other elements it is propagated to any in-flow children. Note that text decorations are not propagated to floating and absolutely positioned descendants, nor to the contents of atomic inline-level descendants such as inline blocks and inline tables.
(Emphasis mine.)
Demo: http://jsfiddle.net/r42e5/10/
Thanks to @Oriol for providing the workaround that prompted me to check the specs and see that the workaround is legal.
Solution 2:
There is a Bug in IE8-11, so using display:inline-block; alone won't work there.
I've found a solution for this bug, by explicitly setting text-decoration:underline; for the :before-content and then overwrite this rule again with text-decoration:none;
a {text-decoration:none;}
a:hover {text-decoration:underline;}
a:before {content:'>\a0'; text-decoration:underline; display:inline-block;}
a:before,
a:hover:before {text-decoration:none;}
Working example here: http://jsfiddle.net/95C2M/
Update: Since jsfiddle does not work with IE8 anymore, just paste this simple demo-code in a local html file and open it in IE8:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>demo</title>
<style type="text/css">
a {text-decoration:none;}
a:hover {text-decoration:underline;}
a:before {content:'>\a0'; text-decoration:underline; display:inline-block;}
a:before,
a:hover:before {text-decoration:none;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<a href="#">Testlink</a> With no Underline on hover under before-content
</body>
</html>
Solution 3:
You can do it adding the following to the :before element:
display: inline-block;
white-space: pre-wrap;
With display: inline-block the underline disappears. But then the problem is that the space after the triangle collapses and is not shown. To fix it, you can use white-space: pre-wrap or white-space: pre.
Demo: http://jsfiddle.net/r42e5/9/
Solution 4:
Wrap your links in spans and add the text-decoration to the span on the a:hover like this,
a:hover span {
text-decoration:underline;
}
I have updated your fiddle to what I think you are trying to do. http://jsfiddle.net/r42e5/4/