CSS Overflow

 

The overflow property specifies whether to clip the content or to add scrollbars when the content of an element is too big to fit in the specified area.

 

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 will be invisible
scroll - The overflow is clipped, and a scrollbar is added to see the rest of the content
auto - Similar to scroll, but it adds scrollbars only when necessary

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overflow: visible

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

 

EXAMPLE:

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div {
  width: 200px;
  height: 50px;
  background-color: #eee;
  overflow: visible;
}

​

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overflow: hidden

​

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

 

EXAMPLE:

​

div {
  overflow: hidden;
}

​

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overflow: scroll

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Setting the value to scroll, the overflow is clipped and a scrollbar is added to scroll inside the box. Note that this will add a scrollbar both horizontally and vertically (even if you do not need it):

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EXAMPLE:

 

div {
  overflow: scroll;
}

​

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overflow: auto

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

​

EXAMPLE:

 

div {
  overflow: auto;
}

​

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overflow-x and overflow-y

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The overflow-x and overflow-y properties specifies whether to change the overflow of content just horizontally or vertically (or both):

 

overflow-x specifies what to do with the left/right edges of the content.
overflow-y specifies what to do with the top/bottom edges of the content.

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EXAMPLE:

 

div {
  overflow-x: hidden; /* Hide horizontal scrollbar */
  overflow-y: scroll; /* Add vertical scrollbar */

}