Default CSS values for a fieldset

Question

I'm trying to use a <legend> as a title inside a <fieldset>.

In browsers other than IE, the <legend> is positioned on the top border of the <fieldset>, with the text perfectly centered on the line.

I'm trying to reset it's position so that it sits just like any other element. i.e. an <h3>.

Here's the CSS I have so far.

fieldset legend {
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
    position: static;
    border: 0;
    top: auto; left: auto;
    float: none;
    display: block;
    font-size: 14px;
    line-height: 18px;
}

But the legend is still perfectly centered on the line.

Yes, I can add a margin/padding/top coordinate but I want to know if the browser has any default values for the element that trigger this layout. I want to then, override these values.

Tested in Firefox (3.6.10), Chrome (6.0.472.63), Safari (5.0.2)

Update I'll leave this question open for another week just in case someone HAS been able to style <legend> elements. If no solutions are found I'll accept @jnpcl's answer.

Answer 1

I've just styled my <legend>'s by giving them a position: absolute; top: -25px; and the the parent <fieldset> with a position: relative; padding-top: 30px;

Answer 2

According to the specification, here is the default styling of the fieldset and legend elements. By resetting those properties, you can have a clean legend element to work with.

Answer 3

https://web.archive.org/web/20140209061351/http://tjkdesign.com/articles/how_to_position_the_legend_element.asp

Simply put, it is not possible across browsers to position the LEGEND element in a Fieldset.

Workaround: wrap the text from <legend> in a <span>, then reposition the <span>.

Answer 4

As per HTML - Living Standard, the below styles are working like a default:

fieldset {
    display: block;
    margin-inline-start: 2px;
    margin-inline-end: 2px;
    border: groove 2px ThreeDFace;
    padding-block-start: 0.35em;
    padding-inline-end: 0.75em;
    padding-block-end: 0.625em;
    padding-inline-start: 0.75em;
    min-inline-size: min-content;
}

legend {
    padding-inline-start: 2px; padding-inline-end: 2px;
}

Answer 5

This is enough :

 form legend{
    float: left;
    width: 100%;
 }