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overflow

The overflow CSS property is shorthand for the overflow-x and overflow-y properties, and specifies what to do when content is too large to fit in its block formatting context.

The options include clipping, showing scrollbars, or displaying the content flowing out of its container into the surrounding area.

/* 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;

Using overflow with 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.

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

Syntax

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. Default value.
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 like Firefox 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: hidden instead.
-moz-scrollbars-horizontal: Use of overflow-x and overflow-y is preferred.
-moz-scrollbars-vertical: Use of overflow-x and overflow-y is 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 | 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 */ }

overflow: hidden
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium.

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	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari
Basic support	1	Yes	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.