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CSS

Matthew McGilton
Matthew McGilton
3,452 Points
Posted by Matthew McGilton
Matthew McGilton
3,452 Points

I don't understand the difference between "only screen" and "screen" in media queries

I've seen some websites use the below media queries:

@media screen and (max-width:600px) @media (max-width:600px) @media only screen and (max-width:600px) @media print and (max-width:600px)

What's the difference between these? Which one is usually the most common?

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,271 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,271 Points

The "only" keyword is just for dealing with browser compatibility issues with old browsers, and is ignored by modern ones.

Here's how the W3C explains it:

The keyword ‘only’ can also be used to hide style sheets from older user agents. User agents must process media queries starting with ‘only’ as if the ‘only’ keyword was not present.