The overflow-block CSS property sets what shows when content overflows the block start and block end edges of a box. This may be nothing, a scroll bar, or the overflow content.

/* Keyword values */ overflow-block: visible; overflow-block: hidden; overflow-block: scroll; overflow-block: auto;  /* Global values */ overflow-block: inherit; overflow-block: initial; overflow-block: revert; overflow-block: unset; 

overflow-block

The overflow-block CSS property sets what shows when content overflows the block start and block end edges of a box. This may be nothing, a scroll bar, or the overflow content.

Note: The overflow-block property maps to overflow-y or overflow-x depending on the writing mode of the document.

Syntax

/* Keyword values */ overflow-block: visible; overflow-block: hidden; overflow-block: scroll; overflow-block: auto;  /* Global values */ overflow-block: inherit; overflow-block: initial; overflow-block: revert; overflow-block: unset; 

The overflow-block 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's block start and block end edges.

hidden

Content is clipped if necessary to fit the block dimension in the padding box. No scrollbars are provided.

scroll

Content is clipped if necessary to fit in the block dimension in 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.

Formal definition

Initial value	auto
Applies to	Block-containers, flex containers, and grid containers
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified, except with visible/clip computing to auto/hidden respectively if one of overflow-x or overflow-y is neither visible nor clip
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

visible | hidden | clip | scroll | auto

Examples

HTML

<ul>   <li><code>overflow-block:hidden</code> — hides the text outside the box   <div id="div1">     Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.     </div>   </li>    <li><code>overflow-block:scroll</code> — always adds a scrollbar   <div id="div2">     Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.     </div>   </li>    <li><code>overflow-block:visible</code> — displays the text outside the box if needed   <div id="div3">     Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.     </div>   </li>    <li><code>overflow-block:auto</code> — on most browser, equivalent to <code>scroll</code>   <div id="div4">     Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.     </div>   </li> </ul> 

CSS

#div1, #div2, #div3, #div4 {   border: 1px solid black;   width:  250px;   height: 100px; }  #div1 { overflow-block: hidden; margin-bottom: 120px;} #div2 { overflow-block: scroll; margin-bottom: 120px;} #div3 { overflow-block: visible; margin-bottom: 120px;} #div4 { overflow-block: auto; margin-bottom: 120px;} 

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Overflow Module Level 3 # logical

See also

Related CSS properties: text-overflow, white-space, overflow, overflow-inline, overflow-x, overflow-y, clip, display CSS Logical Properties Writing Modes

Last modified: Aug 12, 2021, by MDN contributors

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