CSS text-overflow Property


Example

Use of the text-overflow property:

div {
  white-space: nowrap;
  overflow: hidden;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
}
Try it Yourself »

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.


Definition and Usage

The text-overflow property specifies how overflowed content that is not displayed should be signaled to the user. It can be clipped, display an ellipsis (...), or display a custom string.

Both of the following properties are required for text-overflow:

  • white-space: nowrap;
  • overflow: hidden;

Show demo ❯

Default value: clip
Inherited: no
Animatable: no. Read about animatable
Version: CSS3
JavaScript syntax: object.style.textOverflow="ellipsis" Try it

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.

Numbers followed by -o- specify the first version that worked with a prefix.

Property
text-overflow 4.0 6.0 7.0 3.1 11.0
9.0 -o-


CSS Syntax

text-overflow: clip|ellipsis|string|initial|inherit;

Property Values

Value Description Demo
clip Default value. The text is clipped and not accessible Demo ❯
ellipsis Render an ellipsis ("...") to represent the clipped text Demo ❯
string Render the given string to represent the clipped text
initial Sets this property to its default value. Read about initial
inherit Inherits this property from its parent element. Read about inherit

More Examples

Example

Text-overflow with a hover effect (show entire text on hover):

div.a {
  white-space: nowrap;
  overflow: hidden;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
}

div.a:hover {
  overflow: visible;
}
Try it Yourself »

Related Pages

CSS tutorial: CSS Text Effects

HTML DOM reference: textOverflow property


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