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The overflow
property specifies whether to clip content, render scrollbars or just display content when it overflows its block level container.
Using the overflow
property with a value different to visible
(its default) will create a new block formatting context. This is technically necessary — if a float intersected with the scrolling element it would forcibly rewrap the content. The rewrap would happen after each scroll step, leading to a slow scrolling experience.
In order for the overflow
property to have an effect, the block level container must either have a bounding height (height
or max-height
) or have white-space
set to nowrap.
Note: When programmatically setting scrollTop
on the relevant HTML element, even when overflow
has the hidden
value an element may still need to scroll.
Initial value | visible |
---|---|
Applies to | non-replaced block-level elements and non-replaced inline-block elements |
Inherited | no |
Media | visual |
Computed value | as specified |
Animatable | no |
Canonical order | the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar |
Syntax
/* Content is not clipped */ overflow: visible; /* Content is clipped, with no scrollbars */ overflow: hidden; /* Content is clipped, with scrollbars */ overflow: scroll; /* Let the browser decide */ overflow: auto; /* Global values */ overflow: inherit; overflow: initial; overflow: unset;
Values
visible
- Default value. Content is not clipped, it may be rendered outside the content box.
hidden
- The content is clipped and no scrollbars are provided.
scroll
- The content is clipped and desktop browsers use scrollbars, whether or not any content is clipped. This avoids any problem with scrollbars appearing and disappearing in a dynamic environment. Printers may print overflowing content.
auto
- Depends on the user agent. Desktop browsers like Firefox provide scrollbars if content overflows.
Mozilla Extensions
-moz-scrollbars-none
- Use
overflow:hidden
instead. -moz-scrollbars-horizontal
- Use of
overflow-x
andoverflow-y
is preferred. -moz-scrollbars-vertical
- Use of
overflow-x
andoverflow-y
is preferred. - -moz-hidden-unscrollable
- Is intended mainly for internal use and by themes. Disables scrolling of XML root elements and
<html>
,<body>
by arrow keys and mouse wheel.
Formal syntax
visible | hidden | 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 |
Browser compatibility
Feature | Chrome | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | 1.0 | 1.0 (1.7 or earlier)[1] | 4.0[2] | 7.0 | 1.0 (85) |
Feature | Android | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Phone | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | ? | 1.0 (1)[1] | ? | ? | ? |
[1] Through Firefox 3.6 (Gecko 1.9.2), the overflow
property is incorrectly applied to table-group elements (<thead>
, <tbody>
, <tfoot>
). This behavior is corrected in later versions.
[2] Internet Explorer 4 to 6 enlarges an element with overflow:visible
(default value) to fit the content inside it. height/width
behaves like min-height/min-width
.
See also
- Related CSS properties:
text-overflow
,white-space
,overflow-x
,overflow-y
,clip
,display