CSS overflow-anchor Property

Posted in CSS Tutorial

Updated on Oct 07, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 12 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

The overflow-anchor property in CSS is designed to control the behavior of scroll anchoring, which is a feature that helps maintain the user's scroll position when content changes dynamically.

This property ensures that the user's view remains consistent and predictable when elements on the page are resized or added. This is particularly useful for improving the user experience on pages where content is dynamically loaded or updated.

💡 Syntax

The overflow-anchor property can be applied to any scrollable element. The syntax is as follows:

Syntax

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element {
  overflow-anchor: value;
}

Here, value can be one of the following options:

🎛️ Default Value

The default value of the overflow-anchor property is auto. This means that the browser will apply default scroll anchoring behavior.

🏠 Property Values

Value	Description
auto	The browser will automatically determine when scroll anchoring should be applied. This is the default value.
none	Scroll anchoring is disabled for the element. The browser will not apply any anchoring when the content changes.

📄 Example

In this example, we'll disable scroll anchoring on a section of a page to prevent unexpected jumps when content dynamically updates.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS overflow-anchor Example</title>
  <style>
    .dynamic-content {
      overflow-anchor: none;
      height: 200px;
      border: 1px solid #ccc;
      overflow-y: auto;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Dynamic Content with Scroll Anchoring Disabled</h1>
  <div class="dynamic-content">
    <p>Content that might change...</p>
    <!-- More content here -->
  </div>
</body>
</html>

🖥️ Browser Compatibility

The overflow-anchor property is supported in most modern browsers, including the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. It is advisable to test your implementation across different browsers to ensure consistent behavior.

🎉 Conclusion

The overflow-anchor property is a valuable tool for managing scroll behavior in dynamically updated content.

By controlling whether scroll anchoring is applied, you can create a smoother and more predictable user experience. Whether you choose to use the default automatic anchoring or disable it entirely, this property helps maintain the stability of the user's view during content changes.