CSS The overflow Property

The CSS overflow Property

The CSS overflow property controls what happens to content that is too big to fit into an area.

It specifies whether to clip the content or to add scrollbars when the content of an element is too big.

The overflow property has the following values:

• visible - Default. The overflow is not clipped. The content renders outside the element's box
• hidden - The overflow is clipped, and the rest of the content is hidden
• scroll - Scrollbars are added. User must scroll to see all content
• auto - Similar to scroll, but adds scrollbars only when necessary

Here, scrollbars are added on overflow:

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CSS overflow: visible

By default, the overflow is visible, meaning that it is not clipped and it renders outside the element's box:

You can use the overflow property when you want to have better control of the layout. The overflow property specifies what happens if content overflows an element's box.

Example

div {
  width: 200px;
  height:
  65px;
  background-color: coral;
 
overflow: visible;
}

CSS overflow: hidden

With the hidden value, the overflow is clipped, and the rest of the content is hidden:

You can use the overflow property when you want to have better control of the layout. The overflow property specifies what happens if content overflows an element's box.

Example

div {
  overflow: hidden;
}

CSS overflow: scroll

With the scroll value, horizontal and vertical scrollbars are always added. User must scroll to see all content:

You can use the overflow property when you want to have better control of the layout. The overflow property specifies what happens if content overflows an element's box.

Example

div {
  overflow: scroll;
}

CSS overflow: auto

The auto value is similar to scroll, but it adds scrollbars only when necessary:

You can use the overflow property when you want to have better control of the layout. The overflow property specifies what happens if content overflows an element's box.

Example

div {
  overflow: auto;
}

All CSS Overflow Properties