CSS overscroll-behavior Property

Posted in CSS Tutorial

Updated on Oct 07, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 31 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

The overscroll-behavior property in CSS is used to control the behavior of scroll overflow on a webpage. It defines how the browser handles scrolling when the content reaches the end of a scrollable area.

This property is particularly useful for preventing scroll chaining, where a scroll action in one area can inadvertently scroll other areas.

💡 Syntax

The syntax for the overscroll-behavior property is straightforward. It can be applied to any scrollable element.

Syntax

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element {
  overscroll-behavior: value;
}

🎛️ Default Value

The default value of the overscroll-behavior property is auto, which means the default browser behavior for overscroll will occur.

🏠 Property Values

Value	Description
auto	The default behavior, where the page scrolls normally and allows scroll chaining.
contain	Prevents scroll chaining by containing the scroll action within the element. The element won't scroll other elements.
none	Disables scroll chaining and overscroll bounce effects. The element and the page won't respond to overscroll actions.

📄 Example

In this example, we'll apply the overscroll-behavior property to a scrollable div to prevent scroll chaining.

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 overscroll-behavior Example</title>
  <style>
    .scroll-container {
      width: 300px;
      height: 150px;
      overflow: auto;
      border: 1px solid #ccc;
      overscroll-behavior: contain;
    }
    .content {
      height: 300px;
      background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #f06, #f9a);
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Overscroll Behavior Example</h1>
  <div class="scroll-container">
    <div class="content"></div>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

In this example, the overscroll-behavior: contain; style prevents the parent page from scrolling when the user reaches the top or bottom of the scrollable area.

🖥️ Browser Compatibility

The overscroll-behavior property is widely supported in modern browsers, including the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. However, it's always a good practice to test your website across different browsers to ensure consistent behavior.

🎉 Conclusion

The overscroll-behavior property is a useful tool for controlling scroll behavior on web pages, especially in complex layouts where multiple scrollable areas are present.

By using this property, you can prevent unintended scroll chaining and provide a smoother user experience. Experiment with different values to see how they affect the scrolling behavior on your site.