columns

Summary

The columns CSS property is a shorthand property allowing to set both the column-width and the column-count properties at the same time.

• Initial value the concatenation of the initial values of its longhand properties:
  • column-width: auto
  • column-count: auto
• Applies to non-replaced block elements (except table elements), table-cell or inline-block elements
• Inherited no
• Media visual
• Computed value as each of the properties of the shorthand:
  • column-width: is itself a shorthand, applies to the same elements as each of its longhand properties.
  • column-count: is itself a shorthand, applies to the same elements as each of its longhand properties.
• Animatable as each of the properties of the shorthand:
  • column-width: yes, as a length
  • column-count: yes, as an integer
• Canonical order order of appearance in the formal grammar of the values

Syntax

Formal syntax: <'column-width'> || <'column-count'>

Values

<'column-width'>

Is a <length> value giving a hint of the optimal width of the column. The actual column width may be wider (to fill the available space), or narrower (only if the available space is smaller than the specified column width). The length must be strictly positive or the declaration is invalid.

<'column-count'>

Is a strictly positive <integer> describing the ideal number of columns into which the content of the element will be flowed. If the column-width is also set to a non-auto value, it merely indicates the maximum allowed number of columns.

Examples

.content-box {
  border: 10px solid #000000;
  columns:3;
}

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• CSS Reference
• column-width, column-count, column-gap, column-rule, column-rule-width, column-rule-style, column-rule-color, column-span, column-fill, columns