Styling of Select2 dropdown select boxes

Question

I'm using Select2 in a project to style some select boxes in a search form. I managed to change the gradient background of the arrow container to a black gradient:

.select2-container .select2-choice .select2-arrow {
    background-image: -khtml-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(#424242), to(#030303));
    background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%, #424242), color-stop(100%, #030303));
    background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: linear-gradient(#424242, #030303);
}

I would like the arrow to be white, but unfortunately Select2 is using a background image for the different icons instead of font-awesome or something similar, so there's no way to just change the color with CSS.

What would be the easiest way to make the arrow white instead of the default grey? Do I really have to replace the background png (select2.png and select2x2.png) with my own? Or is there an easier method?

Another question I have is how to change the height of the select boxes. I know how to change the height of the dropdown box in opened state, but I want to change the height of the selectbox in closed state. Any ideas?

Unlace

For you second question, look here : #2547854 – Juvenilia

The easiest way to change the color of the background image would be to use your own image, yes – Braca

Answer 1

Thanks for the suggestions in the comments. I made a bit of a dirty hack to get what I want without having to create my own image. With javascript I first hide the default tag that's being used for the down arrow, like so:

$('b[role="presentation"]').hide();

I then included font-awesome in my page and add my own down arrow, again with a line of javascript, to replace the default one:

$('.select2-arrow').append('<i class="fa fa-angle-down"></i>');

Then with CSS I style the select boxes. I set the height, change the background color of the arrow area to a gradient black, change the width, font-size and also the color of the down arrow to white:

.select2-container .select2-choice {
    padding: 5px 10px;
    height: 40px;
    width: 132px; 
    font-size: 1.2em;  
}

.select2-container .select2-choice .select2-arrow {
    background-image: -khtml-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(#424242), to(#030303));
    background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%, #424242), color-stop(100%, #030303));
    background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: linear-gradient(#424242, #030303);
    width: 40px;
    color: #fff;
    font-size: 1.3em;
    padding: 4px 12px;
}

The result is the styling the way I want it:

Update 5/6/2015 As @Katie Lacy mentioned in the other answer the classnames have been changed in version 4 of Select2. The updated CSS with the new classnames should look like this:

.select2-container--default .select2-selection--single{
    padding:6px;
    height: 37px;
    width: 148px; 
    font-size: 1.2em;  
    position: relative;
}

.select2-container--default .select2-selection--single .select2-selection__arrow {
    background-image: -khtml-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(#424242), to(#030303));
    background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%, #424242), color-stop(100%, #030303));
    background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: linear-gradient(#424242, #030303);
    width: 40px;
    color: #fff;
    font-size: 1.3em;
    padding: 4px 12px;
    height: 27px;
    position: absolute;
    top: 0px;
    right: 0px;
    width: 20px;
}

JS:

$('b[role="presentation"]').hide();
$('.select2-selection__arrow').append('<i class="fa fa-angle-down"></i>');

Unlace

I can't seem to get this to work, could you try posting a live example, please? Thanks. – Infundibulum

Important to mention that class names have been changed in v4, as the other answer points out, but this logic still works. – Caroylncarp

Answer 2

Here is a working example of above. http://jsfiddle.net/z7L6m2sc/ Now select2 has been updated the classes have change may be why you cannot get it to work. Here is the css....

.select2-dropdown.select2-dropdown--below{
    width: 148px !important;
}

.select2-container--default .select2-selection--single{
    padding:6px;
    height: 37px;
    width: 148px; 
    font-size: 1.2em;  
    position: relative;
}

.select2-container--default .select2-selection--single .select2-selection__arrow {
    background-image: -khtml-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(#424242), to(#030303));
    background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%, #424242), color-stop(100%, #030303));
    background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, #424242, #030303);
    background-image: linear-gradient(#424242, #030303);
    width: 40px;
    color: #fff;
    font-size: 1.3em;
    padding: 4px 12px;
    height: 27px;
    position: absolute;
    top: 0px;
    right: 0px;
    width: 20px;
}

Phototypography

Answer 3

This is how i changed placeholder arrow color, the 2 classes are for dropdown open and dropdown closed, you need to change the #fff to the color you want:

.select2-container--default.select2-container--open .select2-selection--single .select2-selection__arrow b {
    border-color: transparent transparent #fff transparent !important;
  }
  .select2-container--default .select2-selection--single .select2-selection__arrow b {
    border-color: #fff transparent transparent transparent !important;
  }

Fluorosis

Although this is only a partial answer the question, your solution was perfect for me and for everyone who needs only to change a color of an arrow to match page's style. Thanks for the styles. – Saberio