Gradient colors in Internet Explorer

Question

I know that Internet Explorer has some proprietary extensions so that you can do things like create divs with a gradient background. I can't remember the element name or it's usage. Does anyone have some examples or links?

Solution 1

Look at the custom CSS filters IE can handle http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms532847.aspx

Solution 2

The code I use for all browser gradients:

background: #0A284B;
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(#0A284B), to(#135887));
background: -webkit-linear-gradient(#0A284B, #135887);
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #0A284B, #135887);
background: -ms-linear-gradient(#0A284B, #135887);
background: -o-linear-gradient(#0A284B, #135887);
background: linear-gradient(#0A284B, #135887);
filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#0A284B', endColorstr='#135887');
zoom: 1;

You will need to specify a height or zoom: 1 to apply hasLayout to the element for this to work in IE.

---

Update:

Here is a LESS Mixin (CSS) version for all you LESS users out there:

.gradient(@start, @end) {
    background: mix(@start, @end, 50%);
    filter: ~"progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorStr="@start~", EndColorStr="@end~")";
    background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(@start), to(@end));
    background: -webkit-linear-gradient(@start, @end);
    background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, @start, @end);
    background: -ms-linear-gradient(@start, @end);
    background: -o-linear-gradient(@start, @end);
    background: linear-gradient(@start, @end);
    zoom: 1;
}

Solution 3

The filter style should work for IE8 and IE9.

.gradientClass
{
  filter:  progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(GradientType=0,startColorstr='#e6e6e6', endColorstr='#CCCCCC');       
}

Solution 4

A significant gotcha when it comes to gradients in IE is that although you can use Microsoft's filters...

filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#FCCA6D', endColorstr='#FEFEFE');
zoom:1;

...they kill clear type on any text covered by the gradient. Given that the purpose of gradients is normally to make the UI look better, that's a show stopper for me.

So for IE I use a repeating background image instead. If the background image css is combined with the gradient CSS for other browsers (as per Blowsie's answer), other browsers will ignore the background image in favour of the gradient css, so it will only end up applying to IE.

background-image: url('/Content/Images/button-gradient.png');

There are plenty of sites you can use to quickly generate a gradient background; I use this.

Solution 5

Great tool from Microsoft, allows you to examine colors real-time and generates CSS for all browsers: http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/graphics/cssgradientbackgroundmaker/default.html

/* IE10 */ 
background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #FFFFFF 0%, #B7B8BD 300%);

/* Mozilla Firefox */ 
background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #FFFFFF 0%, #B7B8BD 300%);

/* Opera */ 
background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, #FFFFFF 0%, #B7B8BD 300%);

/* Webkit (Safari/Chrome 10) */ 
background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0, #FFFFFF), color-stop(3, #B7B8BD));

/* Webkit (Chrome 11+) */ 
background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #FFFFFF 0%, #B7B8BD 300%);

/* Proposed W3C Markup */ 
background-image: linear-gradient(top, #FFFFFF 0%, #B7B8BD 300%);

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Comments

[Rohit Lal]

Perfect snippet for gradients. zoom:1 is the key to answering this question though.

[Spudley]

you might want to check out CSS3Pie, which is a script for IE to add support for some CSS features including gradients. It works in IE9 as well.

[codepuppy]

@Blowsie I am having trouble with gradients when used in conjunction with a border radius. In that the background effectively squares off the corners. Obviously dependant on the colour range selected the background fills out the corners. Is there a trick for handling border radius and a background gradient in IE?

[Blowsie]

@codepuppy This is a known bug with no solution, large frameworks like bootstrap have opted for the border-radius with no gradient.

[Aurelio]

@codepuppy apparently there's a way to use border-radius AND gradients in IE. stackoverflow.com/a/7544248/1446845