CSS overflow Property

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Example

Show different overflow property values:

div.ex1 {
overflow: scroll;
}

div.ex2 {
overflow: hidden;
}

div.ex3 {
  overflow: auto;
}

div.ex4 {
  overflow: clip;
}

div.ex5 {
  overflow: visible;
}

Try it Yourself »

Definition and Usage

The overflow property specifies what should happen if content overflows an element's box.

This property specifies whether to clip content or to add scrollbars when an element's content is too big to fit in a specified area.

Note: The overflow property only works for block elements with a specified height.

Show demo ❯

Default value:	visible
Inherited:	no
Animatable:	no. Read about animatable
Version:	CSS2
JavaScript syntax:	object.style.overflow="scroll" Try it

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.

Property
overflow	1.0	4.0	1.0	1.0	7.0

Note: In OS X Lion (on Mac), scrollbars are hidden by default and only shown when being used (even though "overflow:scroll" is set).

CSS Syntax

Property Values

Value	Description	Demo
visible	The overflow is not clipped. It renders outside the element's box. This is default	Demo ❯
hidden	The overflow is clipped, and the rest of the content will be invisible. Content can be scrolled programmatically (e.g. by setting scrollLeft or scrollTo())	Demo ❯
clip	The overflow is clipped, and the rest of the content will be invisible. Forbids scrolling, including programmatic scrolling.	Demo ❯
scroll	The overflow is clipped, but a scroll-bar is added to see the rest of the content	Demo ❯
auto	If overflow is clipped, a scroll-bar should be added to see the rest of the content	Demo ❯
initial	Sets this property to its default value. Read about initial
inherit	Inherits this property from its parent element. Read about inherit

CSS tutorial: CSS Overflow

CSS tutorial: CSS Positioning

HTML DOM reference: overflow property