How to make a div ignore a property assigned by body tag?

I must work within a CMS which controls the styles attached to the body
tag -- I cannot alter this:

body {font-size: 13px}

but I *can* change the style of a tag within the body, i.e., ---

#wrap { }

But I cannot figure out how to instruct the wrap division to ignore the
instruction for the default font-size to be 13px. How can the font-size
of the #wrap container be made to be whatever the browser's default may
be?

I have tried
#wrap {font-size: normal}, or
#wrap {font-size: normal!important}, or
#wrap {font-size: 100%!important}, or
#wrap {font-size: 100%}

all without good result.

Please, does anyone know how to cut this Gordian knot?

Thanks!

falconer

falconer <> scripsit:

> I must work within a CMS which controls the styles attached to the
> body tag -- I cannot alter this:
>
> body {font-size: 13px}

Sigh. Are you _sure_ you must work under such foolish constraints?

> But I cannot figure out how to instruct the wrap division to ignore
> the instruction for the default font-size to be 13px.

Well, that's simple, e.g.

#wrap { font-size: 16px; }

Of course, fixed font sizes aren't a good idea. But if the _overall_ font
size on a page is set in pixels, does it make sense to set the font size of
some element in some different units?

> How can the
> font-size of the #wrap container be made to be whatever the browser's
> default may be?

By setting it to medium.

> I have tried
> #wrap {font-size: normal}, or

Won't work, since there is no such value defined for the font-size property
in CSS specifications; use

#wrap { font-size: medium; }

> #wrap {font-size: 100%!important}, or
> #wrap {font-size: 100%}

The percentage relates by definition to the font size of the enclosing
element, so it won't help here. Note: The !important specifier is not
needed, since _any_ setting of the font-size property for an element
prevents the inheritance of the property value from the enclosing element.
The specifier would be needed, though, if the overall style sheet contained
e.g.

* { font-size: 13px; }

--
Jukka K. Korpela ("Yucca")
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/

Jukka K. Korpela

Thank you for the intelligent discussion.

I have worked around the problem with this awful patch, inserted before
the div I wish to free from the designer's bizarre decision to fix the
font-size:
<style>
body {font-size: 100%}
</style>

<sigh>I feel bad, but it does seem to change everything which follows
it. At least in the two browsers I tested. </sigh>

Jukka K. Korpela wrote:
> falconer <> scripsit:
>
> > I must work within a CMS which controls the styles attached to the
> > body tag -- I cannot alter this:
> >
> > body {font-size: 13px}
>
> Sigh. Are you _sure_ you must work under such foolish constraints?
>
> > But I cannot figure out how to instruct the wrap division to ignore
> > the instruction for the default font-size to be 13px.
>
> Well, that's simple, e.g.
>
> #wrap { font-size: 16px; }
>
> Of course, fixed font sizes aren't a good idea. But if the _overall_ font
> size on a page is set in pixels, does it make sense to set the font size of
> some element in some different units?
>
> > How can the
> > font-size of the #wrap container be made to be whatever the browser's
> > default may be?
>
> By setting it to medium.
>
> > I have tried
> > #wrap {font-size: normal}, or
>
> Won't work, since there is no such value defined for the font-size property
> in CSS specifications; use
>
> #wrap { font-size: medium; }
>
> > #wrap {font-size: 100%!important}, or
> > #wrap {font-size: 100%}
>
> The percentage relates by definition to the font size of the enclosing
> element, so it won't help here. Note: The !important specifier is not
> needed, since _any_ setting of the font-size property for an element
> prevents the inheritance of the property value from the enclosing element.
> The specifier would be needed, though, if the overall style sheet contained
> e.g.
>
> * { font-size: 13px; }
>
> --
> Jukka K. Korpela ("Yucca")
> http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/

falconer