CSS overflow Property

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.

Every single element on a page is a rectangular box. The sizing, positioning, and behavior of these boxes can all be controlled via CSS. By behavior, I mean how the box handles it when the content inside and around it changes. For example, if you don’t set the height of a box, the height of that box will grow as large as it needs to be to accommodate the content. But what happens when you do set a specific height or width on a box, and the content inside cannot fit? That is where the CSS overflow property comes in, allowing you to specify how you would like that handled.

There are four values for the overflow property: visible (default), hidden, scroll, and auto. There are also sister properties overflow-y and overflow-x, which enjoy less widespread adoption.

CSS Syntax

Supported Browsers: The browser supported by property are listed below:

Chrome
Android
Firefox (Gecko)
Firefox Mobile (Gecko)
Internet Explorer (IE)
IE Phone
Opera
Opera Mobile
Safari (WebKit)
Safari Mobile

Example -

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
div.ex1 {
  background-color: lightblue;
  width: 110px;
  height: 110px;
  overflow: scroll;
}

div.ex2 {
  background-color: lightblue;
  width: 110px;
  height: 110px;
  overflow: hidden;
}

div.ex3 {
  background-color: lightblue;
  width: 110px;
  height: 110px;
  overflow: auto;
}

div.ex4 {
  background-color: lightblue;
  width: 110px;
  height: 110px;
  overflow: visible;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<h1>The overflow Property</h1>

<p>The overflow property specifies whether to clip content or to add scrollbars when an element's content is too big to fit in a specified area.</p>

<h2>overflow: scroll:</h2>
<div class="ex1">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.</div>

<h2>overflow: hidden:</h2>
<div class="ex2">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.</div>

<h2>overflow: auto:</h2>
<div class="ex3">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.</div>

<h2>overflow: visible (default):</h2>
<div class="ex4">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.</div>

</body>
</html>