overflow-y property - CSS Reference

Definition and Usage

The overflow-y CSS property specifies whether to clip content, render a scroll bar, or display overflow content of a block-level element, when it overflows at the top and bottom edges.

Initial visible
Applies to non-replaced block-level elements and non-replaced inline-block elements
Inherited no
Media visual
Computed Value as specified
Animatable no
Canonical order the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Syntax

Formal syntax: visible | hidden | scroll | auto

overflow-y: visible
overflow-y: hidden
overflow-y: scroll
overflow-y: auto
overflow-y: inherit

Values

visible: Content is not clipped, it may be rendered outside the content box.
hidden: The content is clipped and no scrollbars are provided.
scroll: The content is clipped and desktop browsers use scrollbars, whether or not any content is clipped. This avoids any problem with scrollbars appearing and disappearing in a dynamic environment. Printers may print overflowing content.
auto: Depends on the user agent. Desktop browsers like Firefox provide scrollbars if content overflows.

Examples

HTML

<div id="div1">
  <h1><code>overflow-y:visible;</code></h1>
  <p>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.</p>
</div>
<div id="div2">
  <h1><code>overflow-y:auto;</code></h1>
  <p>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.</p>
</div>
<div id="div3">
  <h1><code>overflow-y:hidden;</code></h1>
  <p>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.</p>
</div>

CSS

#div1,
#div2,
#div3 {
  border: 10px dotted blue;
  width:  200px;
  height: 100px;
}
#div1 { overflow: visible; }
#div2 { overflow: auto; }
#div3 { overflow: hidden; }