CSS break-inside Property

Posted in CSS Tutorial

Updated on Oct 02, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 14 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

The break-inside property in CSS is used to control the behavior of breaks within elements when printing or when dealing with multi-column layouts.

This property helps to prevent unwanted breaks inside elements, ensuring that content maintains its intended structure and appearance across different devices and print formats.

💡 Syntax

The syntax for the break-inside property is straightforward. It can be applied to any element to control how breaks inside the element are handled.

Syntax

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element {
  break-inside: value;
}

🎛️ Default Value

The default value of the break-inside property is auto, which means the browser will determine break points automatically based on its default behavior.

🏠 Property Values

Value	Description
auto	Allows, but does not force, any break inside the element.
avoid	Prevents any break inside the element.
avoid-page	Avoids a page break inside the element.
avoid-column	Avoids a column break inside the element.
inherit	Inherits the value from its parent element.

📄 Example

In this example, we'll prevent breaks inside a column of items to ensure that the content within each column remains together.

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-inside Example</title>
  <style>
    .container {
      column-count: 3;
      column-gap: 20px;
    }
    .item {
      break-inside: avoid;
      margin-bottom: 20px;
      padding: 10px;
      background-color: #f0f0f0;
      border: 1px solid #ccc;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Items with Prevented Breaks Inside Columns</h1>
  <div class="container">
    <div class="item">Item 1</div>
    <div class="item">Item 2</div>
    <div class="item">Item 3</div>
    <div class="item">Item 4</div>
    <div class="item">Item 5</div>
    <div class="item">Item 6</div>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

🖥️ Browser Compatibility

The break-inside 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-inside property is a useful tool for web developers looking to control content flow in multi-column layouts and printed documents.

By preventing unwanted breaks within elements, you can maintain the integrity and readability of your content. Experiment with different values to see how this property can enhance the presentation of your web projects.