The overflow CSS property specifies what to do when an element's content is too large to fit in its block formatting context. It is a shorthand for the overflow-x and overflow-y properties.
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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: 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; /* Global values */ overflow: inherit; overflow: initial; overflow: unset;
The overflow property is specified as a single keyword chosen from the list of values below.
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- Use
overflow: hiddeninstead. -moz-scrollbars-horizontal- Use of
overflow-xandoverflow-yis preferred. -moz-scrollbars-vertical- Use of
overflow-xandoverflow-yis preferred. -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.
Formal syntax
visible | hidden | clip | scroll | auto
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 | |
| 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 | non-replaced block-level elements and non-replaced inline-block elements |
| 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
| Feature | Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | 1 | 12 | 11 | 42 | 7 | 1 |
| Feature | Android webview | Chrome for Android | Edge mobile | Firefox for Android | Opera Android | iOS Safari | Samsung Internet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | ? | ? | Yes | 4 | ? | ? | ? |
1. After Firefox 3.6, the overflow property is correctly applied to table group elements (<thead>, <tbody>, <tfoot>).
2. From version 4 to 6, Internet Explorer enlarges an element with overflow: visible (default value) to fit the content inside it. height and width behave like min-height and min-width, respectively.
See also
- Related CSS properties:
text-overflow,white-space,overflow-x,overflow-y,clip,display