CSS break-before Property

Posted in CSS Tutorial

Updated on Oct 02, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 20 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

The break-before property in CSS is used to control the page, column, or region break behavior before a specified element.

This property is particularly useful in paged media (such as printed documents) or multi-column layouts, allowing developers to dictate how content should flow across pages or columns.

💡 Syntax

The syntax for the break-before property is straightforward and accepts several keyword values that dictate the break behavior.

Syntax

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element {
  break-before: value;
}

🎛️ Default Value

The default value of the break-before property is auto, which means no break is forced before the element, and the content flows naturally.

🏠 Property Values

Value	Description
auto	Default value. Neither force nor forbid a break before the element.
always	Always force a page break before the element.
avoid	Avoid a page break before the element.
left	Force one or two page breaks before the element so that the next page is formatted as a left page.
right	Force one or two page breaks before the element so that the next page is formatted as a right page.
page	Force a page break before the element.
column	Force a column break before the element in a multi-column layout.
region	Force a region break before the element.

📄 Example

In this example, we'll force a page break before a heading element in a printed document.

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 break-before Example</title>
  <style>
    @media print {
      h2 {
        break-before: page;
      }
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Chapter 1</h1>
  <p>Content of the first chapter...</p>
  <h2>Chapter 2</h2>
  <p>Content of the second chapter...</p>
</body>
</html>

In this example, when the document is printed, a page break will be forced before the second heading (<h2>), ensuring that Chapter 2 starts on a new page.

🖥️ Browser Compatibility

The break-before property is supported in most modern browsers, including the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera. However, it is always a good practice to test your website across different browsers to ensure compatibility.

🎉 Conclusion

The break-before property is a useful tool for web developers working with paged media or multi-column layouts. It allows for fine-grained control over content flow, ensuring that elements appear in the desired locations across pages or columns.

By understanding and using this property, you can create more professional and well-organized documents and layouts.