The overflow CSS property sets what to do when an element's content is too big to fit in its block formatting context. It is a shorthand for overflow-x and overflow-y.
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The options include clipping, showing scrollbars, or displaying the content flowing out of its container into the surrounding area.
Specifying a value other than visible (the default) creates a new block formatting context. This is necessary for technical reasons — if a float intersected with the scrolling element it would forcibly rewrap the content after each scroll step, leading to a slow scrolling experience.
In order for overflow to have an effect, the block-level container must have either a set height (height or max-height) or white-space set to nowrap.
Note: Setting one axis to visible (the default) while setting the other to a different value results in visible behaving as auto.
Note: The JavaScript Element.scrollTop property may be used to scroll an HTML element even when overflow is set to hidden.
Syntax
/* Keyword values */ overflow: visible; overflow: hidden; overflow: scroll; overflow: auto; overflow: hidden visible; /* Global values */ overflow: inherit; overflow: initial; overflow: unset;
The overflow property is specified as one or two keywords chosen from the list of values below. If two keywords are specified, the first applies to overflow-x and the second to overflow-y. Otherwise, both overflow-x and overflow-y are set to the same value.
Values
visible- Content is not clipped and may be rendered outside the padding box.
hidden- Content is clipped if necessary to fit the padding box. No scrollbars are provided.
scroll- Content is clipped if necessary to fit the padding box. Browsers display scrollbars whether or not any content is actually clipped. (This prevents scrollbars from appearing or disappearing when the content changes.) Printers may still print overflowing content.
auto- Depends on the user agent. If content fits inside the padding box, it looks the same as
visible, but still establishes a new block-formatting context. Desktop browsers provide scrollbars if content overflows.
overlay- Behaves the same as
auto, but with the scrollbars drawn on top of content instead of taking up space. Only supported in WebKit-based (e.g., Safari) and Blink-based (e.g., Chrome or Opera) browsers.
Mozilla Extensions
-moz-scrollbars-none[1]- Use
overflow: hiddeninstead. -moz-scrollbars-horizontal[1]- Use
overflow-x: scrolloverflow-y: hiddenoverflow: hidden scrollinstead. -moz-scrollbars-vertical[1]- Use
overflow-x: hiddenoverflow-y: scrolloverflow: scroll hiddeninstead. -moz-hidden-unscrollable- Intended mainly for internal use and by themes. Disables scrolling of XML root elements,
<html>, and<body>with the keyboard's arrow keys and the mouse wheel.
[1] As of Firefox 63, this feature is behind a feature preference setting. In about:config, set layout.css.overflow.moz-scrollbars.enabled to true
Formal syntax
[ visible | hidden | clip | scroll | auto ]{1,2}
Examples
p {
width: 12em;
height: 6em;
border: dotted;
overflow: visible; /* content is not clipped */
}
visible (default)
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium.
p { overflow: hidden; /* no scrollbars are provided */ }
p { overflow: scroll; /* always show scrollbars */ }
overflow: scroll
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium.
p { overflow: auto; /* append scrollbars if necessary */ }
overflow: auto
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium.
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| CSS Overflow Module Level 3 The definition of 'overflow' in that specification. |
Working Draft |
Changed syntax to allow one or two keywords instead of only one |
| CSS Basic Box Model The definition of 'overflow' in that specification. |
Working Draft | No change. |
| CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'overflow' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
| Initial value | visible |
|---|---|
| Applies to | Block-containers, flex containers, and grid containers |
| Inherited | no |
| Media | visual |
| Computed value | as specified |
| Animation type | discrete |
| Canonical order | the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar |
Browser compatibility
| Desktop | Mobile | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox
Full support
1
| IE
Full support
4
| Opera Full support 7 | Safari Full support 1 | WebView Android ? | Chrome Android ? | Edge Mobile Full support Yes | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android ? | Safari iOS ? | Samsung Internet Android ? |
Multiple keyword syntax for overflow-x and overflow-y | Chrome Full support 68 | Edge No support No | Firefox Full support 61 | IE No support No | Opera Full support 55 | Safari No support No | WebView Android Full support 68 | Chrome Android Full support 68 | Edge Mobile No support No | Firefox Android Full support 61 | Opera Android Full support 55 | Safari iOS No support No | Samsung Internet Android No support No |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- No support
- No support
- Compatibility unknown
- Compatibility unknown
- Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.
- Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.
- See implementation notes.
- See implementation notes.
See also
- Related CSS properties:
text-overflow,white-space,overflow-x,overflow-y,clip,display