page-break-before

Summary

The page-break-before CSS property adjusts page breaks before the current element.

This property applies to block elements that generate a box. It won't apply on an empty <div> that won't generate a box.

Note: this property is in progress of being replaced by the more generic break-before. This new property also handles column and region breaks and is syntactically compatible with page-break-before.

Before using page-break-before, check if you can use break-before instead. In the future page-break-before will be a mere alias for some values of it.

Initial value	`auto`
Applies to	block-level elements in the normal flow of the root element. User agents may also apply it to other elements like `table-row` elements.
Inherited	no
Media	visual, paged
Computed value	as specified
Animatable	no
Canonical order	the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
page-break-before: auto;
page-break-before: always;
page-break-before: avoid;
page-break-before: left;
page-break-before: right;
page-break-before: recto;
page-break-before: verso;

/* Global values */
page-break-before: inherit;
page-break-before: initial;
page-break-before: unset;

Values

auto: Initial value. Automatic page breaks (neither forced nor forbidden).
always: Always force page breaks before the element.
avoid: Avoid page breaks before the element.
left: Force page breaks before the element so that the next page is formatted as a left page.
right: Force page breaks before the element so that the next page is formatted as a right page.
recto: If pages progress left-to-right, then this acts like right. If pages progress right-to-left, then this acts like left.
verso: If pages progress left-to-right, then this acts like left. If pages progress right-to-left, then this acts like right.

Formal syntax

auto | always | avoid | left | right

Examples

/* avoid page break before the div */
div.note { 
    page-break-before: avoid;
}

Specification

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Logical Properties Level 1 The definition of 'recto and verso' in that specification.	Editor's Draft	Adds the values `recto` and `verso`.
CSS Paged Media Module Level 3 The definition of 'page-break-before' in that specification.	Working Draft	Extends the element that this property applies to table rows and table row groups.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'page-break-before' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition

Feature	Chrome	Firefox (Gecko)	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari (WebKit)
Basic support (`auto`, `always`)	1.0	1.0 (1.7 or earlier)	4.0	7.0	1.2 (125)
`avoid`, `left`, `right`	1.0	Not supported (bug 132035)	4.0	7.0	1.2 (125)

Feature	Android	Firefox Mobile (Gecko)	IE Phone	Opera Mobile	Safari Mobile
Basic support	?	1.0 (1.0)	?	?	?
`avoid`, `left`, `right`	?	Not supported (bug 132035)	?	?	?