Tue, 27 Jan 2015 16:10:12 -0800
[css-overflow] Convert propdef tables to bikeshed syntax.
1 <h1>CSS Overflow Module Level 3</h1>
2 <pre class="metadata">
3 Status: ED
4 ED: http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css-overflow/
5 Shortname: css-overflow
6 Group: csswg
7 Level: 1
8 TR: http://www.w3.org/TR/css-overflow-3/
9 Previous version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2013/WD-css-overflow-3-20130418/
10 Editor: L. David Baron, Mozilla, http://dbaron.org/
11 Abstract: This module contains the features of CSS relating to new mechanisms of overflow handling in visual media (e.g., screen or paper). In interactive media, it describes features that allow the overflow from a fixed size container to be handled by pagination (displaying one page at a time). It also describes features, applying to all visual media, that allow the contents of an element to be spread across multiple fragments, allowing the contents to flow across multiple regions or to have different styles for different fragments.
12 Status Text: The following features are at risk: …
13 !Change Log: <a href="https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/csswg/log/tip/css-overflow/Overview.bs">from 27 January 2015 to the present</a>
14 !Change Log: <a href="https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/csswg/log/tip/css-overflow/Overview.src.html">from 28 March 2013 to 27 January 2015</a>
15 !Change Log: <a href="https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/csswg/log/tip/css3-overflow/Overview.src.html">from 31 July 2012 to 27 March 2013</a>
16 </pre>
17 <!-- FIXME: Regressions from bikeshed conversion: -->
18 <!-- - Value lines in propdef tables no longer link to #values. -->
19 <!-- - no longer says "Test suite: none yet" -->
20 <!-- - Abstract has the most introductory sentence last -->
21 <pre class="link-defaults">
22 spec:css-transforms-1; type:property; text:transform-style
23 </pre>
24 <!-- FIXME: the break-* link doesn't actually work! -->
25 <pre class="anchors">
26 url: http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/CR-css3-marquee-20081205/#the-overflow-style; type: property; text: overflow-style;
27 url: http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css-break/#breaking-controls; type: property; text: break-*;
28 url: http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css-multicol/#overflow-columns; type: dfn; text: overflow columns;
29 url: http://dev.w3.org/csswg/selectors-3/#subject; type: dfn; text: subject;
30 </pre>
31 <style>
32 table.source-demo-pair {
33 width: 100%;
34 }
36 .in-cards-demo {
37 width: 13em;
38 height: 8em;
40 padding: 4px;
41 border: medium solid blue;
42 margin: 6px;
44 font: medium/1.3 Times New Roman, Times, serif;
45 white-space: nowrap;
46 }
48 .bouncy-columns-demo {
49 width: 6em;
50 height: 10em;
51 float: left;
52 margin: 1em;
53 font: medium/1.25 Times New Roman, Times, serif;
54 white-space: nowrap;
55 }
56 .bouncy-columns-demo.one {
57 background: aqua; color: black;
58 transform: rotate(-3deg);
59 }
60 .bouncy-columns-demo.two {
61 background: yellow; color: black;
62 transform: rotate(3deg);
63 }
65 .article-font-inherit-demo {
66 font: 1em/1.25 Times New Roman, Times, serif;
67 white-space: nowrap;
68 }
69 .article-font-inherit-demo.one {
70 width: 12em;
71 font-size: 1.5em;
72 margin-bottom: 1em;
73 height: 4em;
74 }
75 .article-font-inherit-demo.two {
76 width: 11em;
77 margin-left: 5em;
78 margin-right: 2em;
79 }
81 .dark-columns-demo {
82 width: 6em;
83 height: 10em;
84 float: left;
85 margin-right: 1em;
86 font: medium/1.25 Times New Roman, Times, serif;
87 white-space: nowrap;
88 }
89 .dark-columns-demo.one {
90 background: aqua; color: black;
91 }
92 .dark-columns-demo.one :link {
93 color: blue;
94 }
95 .dark-columns-demo.one :visited {
96 color: purple;
97 }
98 .dark-columns-demo.two {
99 background: navy; color: white;
100 }
101 .dark-columns-demo.two :link {
102 color: aqua;
103 }
104 .dark-columns-demo.two :visited {
105 color: fuchsia;
106 }
108 .article-max-lines-demo {
109 font: 1em/1.25 Times New Roman, Times, serif;
110 white-space: nowrap;
111 }
112 .article-max-lines-demo.one::first-letter {
113 font-size: 2em;
114 line-height: 0.9;
115 }
116 .article-max-lines-demo.one {
117 font-size: 1.5em;
118 width: 16em;
119 }
120 .article-max-lines-demo.two {
121 width: 11.5em;
122 float: left; margin-right: 1em;
123 }
124 .article-max-lines-demo.three {
125 width: 11.5em;
126 float: left;
127 }
128 </style>
130 <p>
131 </p>
133 <h2 id="intro">
134 Introduction</h2>
136 <p>
137 In CSS Level 1 [[CSS1]], placing more content than would fit
138 inside an element with a specified size
139 was generally an authoring error.
140 Doing so caused the content to extend
141 outside the bounds of the element,
142 which would likely cause
143 that content to overlap with other elements.
144 </p>
146 <p>
147 CSS Level 2 [[CSS21]] introduced the 'overflow' property,
148 which allows authors to have overflow be handled by scrolling,
149 which means it is no longer an authoring error.
150 It also allows authors to specify
151 that overflow is handled by clipping,
152 which makes sense when the author's intent
153 is that the content not be shown.
154 </p>
156 <p>
157 However, scrolling is not the only way
158 to present large amounts of content,
159 and may even not be the optimal way.
160 After all, the codex replaced the scroll
161 as the common format for large written works
162 because of its advantages.
163 </p>
165 <p>
166 This specification introduces
167 a mechanism for Web pages to specify
168 that an element of a page should handle overflow
169 through pagination rather than through scrolling.
170 </p>
172 <p>
173 This specification also extends the concept of overflow
174 in another direction.
175 Instead of requiring that authors specify a single area
176 into which the content of an element must flow,
177 this specification allows authors to specify multiple fragments,
178 each with their own dimensions and styles,
179 so that the content of the element can flow from one to the next,
180 using as many as needed to place the content without overflowing.
181 </p>
183 <p>
184 In both of these cases, implementations must
185 break the content in the block-progression dimension.
186 Implementations must do this is described
187 in the CSS Fragmentation Module [[!CSS3-BREAK]].
188 </p>
190 <h2 id="overflow-concepts">Types of overflow</h2>
192 <p>
193 CSS uses the term <dfn>overflow</dfn> to describe
194 the contents of a box
195 that extend outside that one of that box's edges
196 (i.e., its <i>content edge</i>, <i>padding edge</i>,
197 <i>border edge</i>, or <i>margin edge</i>).
198 The overflow might be described as the elements or features
199 that cause this overflow,
200 the non-rectangular region occupied by these features,
201 or, more commonly,
202 as the minimal rectangle that bounds that region.
203 A box's overflow is computed based on the boxes and styles
204 of the box and of all its descendants whose containing block chain
205 <span class="issue">undefined term?</span>
206 includes the box.
207 </p>
209 <p>
210 In most cases, any of these types of overflow
211 can be computed for any box
212 from the bounds and properties of that box,
213 and from the overflow (of that type)
214 of each of its children.
215 However, this is not always the case; for example,
216 when ''transform-style: preserve-3d'' [[CSS3-TRANSFORMS]] is used on
217 some of the children, their descendants with
218 ''transform-style: preserve-3d'' must also be examined.
219 </p>
221 <h3 id="ink-overflow">Ink overflow</h3>
223 <p>
224 The <dfn id="ink-overflow0">ink overflow</dfn> of a box
225 is the part of that box and its contents that
226 creates a visual effect outside of
227 the box's border box.
228 </p>
230 <p>
231 Since some effects in CSS (for example, the blurs in
232 'text-shadow' [[CSS3TEXT]] and 'box-shadow' [[CSS3BG]])
233 do not define what visual extent they cover, the extent
234 of the <a>ink overflow</a> is undefined.
235 </p>
237 <p class="issue">
238 Should we try to define it at all and just leave pieces undefined?
239 </p>
241 <p>
242 The <dfn>ink overflow region</dfn> is the non-rectangular region
243 occupied by the <a>ink overflow</a>, and the
244 <dfn>ink overflow rectangle</dfn> is
245 the minimal rectangle whose axis is aligned to the box's axes
246 and contains the <a>ink overflow region</a>.
247 Note that the <a>ink overflow rectangle</a> is a rectangle
248 in the box's coordinate system, but might be non-rectangular
249 in other coordinate systems due to transforms [[CSS3-TRANSFORMS]].
250 </p>
252 <h3 id="scrollable-overflow">Scrollable overflow</h3>
254 <p>
255 The <dfn id="scrollable-overflow0">scrollable overflow</dfn> of a box is the
256 set of things extending outside of that box's padding edge
257 for which a scrolling mechanism needs to be provided.
258 </p>
260 <p class="issue">
261 The following definition should be rewritten to use
262 the concept of <a href="http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css-transforms/#3d-rendering-context">3D rendering context</a> [[!CSS3-TRANSFORMS]]
263 and related terms,
264 particularly once those concepts stabilize following changes
265 proposed in the CSS WG meeting on the morning of 2014-01-28.
266 </p>
268 <p>
269 Given the following definitions
270 <span class="issue">which belong in [[CSS3-TRANSFORMS]]</span>:
271 </p>
273 <dl>
274 <dt><dfn>3d-preserving child</dfn></dt>
275 <dd>
276 A child box B of a containing block C is a 3d-preserving
277 child if it has ''transform-style: preserve-3d''
278 and the user-agent is not required to flatten it
279 based on the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-transforms/#transform-style-property">requirements</a> in [[!CSS3-TRANSFORMS]].
280 </dt>
281 <dt><dfn>non-3d-preserving child</dfn></dt>
282 <dd>
283 A child C of a box P is a non-3d-preserving-child if
284 it is not a <a>3d-preserving child</a>.
285 </dd>
286 <dt><dfn>3d-preserving descendant</dfn></dt>
287 <dd>
288 Box D is a 3d-preserving descendant of box A if A is
289 an ancestor of D, and D and all of the boxes (if any)
290 in the containing block chain from D to A
291 are <a>3d-preserving child</a> boxes.
292 </dd>
293 </dl>
295 <p>The scrollable overflow of a box is the union of the following things,
296 all adjusted for transforms <span class="issue">undefined concept!</span> into the box's coordinate space:</p>
298 <ul>
299 <li>
300 for the box and all of its <a>3d-preserving descendant</a> boxes:
301 <ul>
302 <li>the box's own padding edge (for the box itself) or border edge (for <a>3d-preserving descendant</a> boxes)</li>
303 <li>the bounds <span class="issue">undefined term!</span> of any text directly in the box</li>
304 <li><span class="issue">MORE HERE!</span>
305 </ul>
306 <li>
307 for all the <a>non-3d-preserving child</a> boxes of the
308 box and its <a>3d-preserving descendant</a> boxes,
309 the scrollable overflow of the box
310 </li>
311 </ul>
313 <p class="issue">
314 I wrote this definition off the top of my head,
315 so it can't possibly be right.
316 It's missing tons of pieces!
317 </p>
319 <p class="issue">
320 The handling of preserve-3d subtrees here is probably wrong;
321 the elements should probably count
322 only towards the overflow of the element that flattens them.
323 </p>
325 <p>
326 The <dfn>scrollable overflow region</dfn> is the non-rectangular region
327 occupied by the <a>scrollable overflow</a>, and the
328 <dfn>scrollable overflow rectangle</dfn> is
329 the minimal rectangle whose axis is aligned to the box's axes
330 and contains the <a>scrollable overflow region</a>.
331 Note that the <a>scrollable overflow rectangle</a> is a rectangle
332 in the box's coordinate system, but might be non-rectangular
333 in other coordinate systems due to transforms [[CSS3-TRANSFORMS]].
334 </p>
336 <h3 id="border-box-overflow">Border box overflow</h3>
338 <p class="issue">
339 This concept has been proposed for some uses, such as for
340 determining what the 'outline' property goes around, and
341 as the basis of a coordinate system for specifying clips and masks,
342 but it's not clear if it's needed.
343 </p>
345 <p>
346 The <dfn>border-box overflow</dfn> of a box is the
347 union of the box's border edge and the border edges of
348 the box's descendants.</p>
349 </p>
351 <p class="issue">
352 If needed, define more formally, as for scrollable overflow above.
353 (Maybe even share the definitions in an appropriate way!)
354 </p>
356 <p>
357 The <dfn>border-box overflow region</dfn> is the non-rectangular region
358 occupied by the <a>border-box overflow</a>, and the
359 <dfn>border-box overflow rectangle</dfn> is
360 the minimal rectangle whose axis is aligned to the box's axes
361 and contains the <a>border-box overflow region</a>.
362 Note that the <a>border-box overflow rectangle</a> is a rectangle
363 in the box's coordinate system, but might be non-rectangular
364 in other coordinate systems due to transforms [[CSS3-TRANSFORMS]].
365 </p>
367 <h2 id="overflow-properties">Overflow properties</h2>
369 <p>
370 The 'overflow-x' property specifies
371 the handling of overflow in the horizontal direction
372 (i.e., overflow from the left and right sides of the box),
373 and the 'overflow-y' property specifies the handling
374 of overflow in the vertical direction
375 (i.e., overflow from the top and bottom sides of the box)
376 </p>
378 <pre class=propdef>
379 Name: overflow-x, overflow-y
380 Value: visible | hidden | scroll | auto | paged-x | paged-y | paged-x-controls | paged-y-controls | fragments
381 Initial: visible
382 Applies to: block containers [[!CSS21]], flex containers [[!CSS3-FLEXBOX]], and grid containers [[!CSS3-GRID-LAYOUT]]
383 Inherited: no
384 Percentages: N/A
385 Media: visual
386 Computed value: see below
387 Animatable: no
388 Canonical order: <abbr title="follows order of property value definition">per grammar</abbr>
389 </pre>
391 <p>
392 The 'overflow' property is a shorthand property
393 that sets the specified values of both 'overflow-x' and 'overflow-y'
394 to the value specified for 'overflow'.
395 </p>
397 <pre class=propdef>
398 Name: overflow
399 Value: visible | hidden | scroll | auto | paged-x | paged-y | paged-x-controls | paged-y-controls | fragments
400 Initial: see individual properties
401 Applies to: block containers [[!CSS21]], flex containers [[!CSS3-FLEXBOX]], and grid containers [[!CSS3-GRID-LAYOUT]]
402 Inherited: no
403 Percentages: N/A
404 Media: visual
405 Computed value: see individual properties
406 Animatable: no
407 Canonical order: <abbr title="follows order of property value definition">per grammar</abbr>
408 </pre>
410 <p>The values of these properties are:</p>
412 <dl dfn-for="overflow" dfn-type="value">
413 <dt><dfn>visible</dfn>
414 <dd>
415 There is no special handling of overflow, that is, it
416 may be rendered outside the block container.
417 </dd>
418 <dt><dfn>hidden</dfn>
419 <dt><dfn>scroll</dfn>
420 <dt><dfn>auto</dfn>
421 <dd>
422 These values are collectively the <dfn dfn>scrolling values</dfn>;
423 they are defined in the section on
424 <a href="#scrolling-overflow">scrolling and hidden overflow</a>.
425 </dd>
426 <dt><dfn>paged-x</dfn>
427 <dt><dfn>paged-y</dfn>
428 <dt><dfn>paged-x-controls</dfn>
429 <dt><dfn>paged-y-controls</dfn>
430 <dt><dfn>fragments</dfn>
431 <dd>
432 These values are collectively the <dfn dfn>fragmenting values</dfn>;
433 they are defined in the sections on
434 <a href="#paginated-overflow">paginated overflow</a> and
435 <a href="#fragment-overflow">fragment overflow</a>.
436 </dd>
437 </dl>
439 <div id="overflow-computed-values">
440 <p>The computed values of 'overflow-x' and 'overflow-y'
441 are determined from the cascaded values [[!CSS3CASCADE]]
442 based on the following rules:</p>
444 <ol>
445 <li>
446 If one or both of the cascaded values are
447 <a>fragmenting values</a>, then:
448 <ol>
449 <li>
450 If one of the cascaded values is one of the
451 <a>fragmenting values</a>
452 and the other is not,
453 then the computed values are
454 the same as the cascaded values.
455 </li>
456 <li>
457 If both of the cascaded values are <a>fragmenting values</a>, then:
458 <ol>
459 <li>
460 for horizontal writing mode [[!CSS3-WRITING-MODES]],
461 the computed value for 'overflow-y' is the cascaded value
462 and the computed value for 'overflow-x' is ''overflow/hidden'', or
463 </li>
464 <li>
465 for vertical writing mode [[!CSS3-WRITING-MODES]],
466 the computed value for 'overflow-x' is the cascaded value
467 and the computed value for 'overflow-y' is ''overflow/hidden''.
468 </li>
469 </ol>
470 </li>
471 </ol>
472 </li>
473 <li>
474 Otherwise, if one cascaded values is
475 one of the <a>scrolling values</a>
476 and the other is ''overflow/visible'',
477 then computed values are the cascaded values
478 with ''overflow/visible'' changed to ''overflow/auto''.
479 </li>
480 <li>
481 Otherwise, the computed values are as specified.
482 </li>
483 </ol>
484 </div>
486 <p class="issue">
487 Are all 4 of the ''paged-*'' values really needed?
488 </p>
490 <p>
491 When the <a>fragmenting values</a> are used,
492 the overflow from the fragments themselves
493 treats the fragmenting value as ''overflow/hidden''.
494 <span class="issue">Is this the right behavior?</span>
495 <span class="issue">Give example.</span>
496 </p>
498 <p class="issue">
499 [[CSS3-MARQUEE]] describes an 'overflow-style' property,
500 but it has not picked up implementation experience
501 that the working group is aware of.
502 Should this document treat 'overflow-style' as a defunct proposal,
503 or should this document describe the 'overflow-style' property
504 and attempt to revive it,
505 despite that implementations have implemented
506 'overflow-x' and 'overflow-y' instead?
507 </p>
509 <p class="issue">
510 There are <a href="http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/2012May/1197.html">discussions</a>
511 about how overflow, overflow-style, overflow-x and overflow-y
512 should work and interact with each other.
513 Until consensus on this topic is reached,
514 it is not completely clear which of these
515 should be used for
516 paged-x | paged-y | paged-x-controls | paged-y-controls | fragments
517 </p>
519 <h2 id="scrolling-overflow">Scrolling and hidden overflow</h2>
521 <p class="issue">
522 Move material from [[CSS21]] and [[CSS3BOX]] here.
523 </p>
525 <p class="issue">
526 Explain which directions allow scrolling and which don't,
527 as a function of 'direction'
528 (including propagation of 'direction' to the ICB).
529 </p>
531 <h2 id="paginated-overflow">Paginated overflow</h2>
533 <p class="issue">overflow:paginate or overflow:pages (or paged-x, paged-y, paged-x-controls, paged-y-controls as [[CSS3GCPM]] has?)</p>
535 <p class="issue">Ability to display N pages at once
536 rather than just one page at once?</p>
538 <p class="issue">
539 The current implementation of paginated overflow uses
540 the 'overflow'/'overflow-x'/'overflow-y' properties
541 rather than the 'overflow-style' property as proposed
542 in the [[CSS3GCPM]] draft
543 (which also matches the [[CSS3-MARQUEE]] proposal).
544 We should probably switch away from 'overflow-style',
545 but that's not 100% clear.
546 </p>
548 <h2 id="fragment-overflow">Fragment overflow</h2>
550 <p>
551 This section introduces and defines the meaning of
552 the new ''fragments'' value of the 'overflow' property.
553 </p>
555 <p>
556 When the computed value of 'overflow' for an element is ''fragments'',
557 and implementations would otherwise have created a box for the element,
558 then implementations must create a sequence of <dfn>fragment box</dfn>es
559 for that element.
560 (It is possible for an element with ''overflow: fragments''
561 to generate only one <a>fragment box</a>.
562 However, if an element's computed 'overflow' is not ''fragments'',
563 then its box is not a <a>fragment box</a>.)
564 Every <a>fragment box</a> is a fragmentation container,
565 and any overflow
566 that would cause that fragmentation container to fragment
567 causes another <a>fragment box</a> created as a next sibling
568 of the previous one.
569 <span class="issue">Or is it as though it's a next sibling of
570 the element? Need to figure out exactly how this interacts with
571 other box-level fixup.</span>
572 Additionally, if the <a>fragment box</a> is also
573 a multi-column box (as defined in [[!CSS3COL]]
574 <span class="issue">though it defines <i>multi-column element</i></span>)
575 any content that would lead to the creation of <a>overflow columns</a> [[!CSS3COL]]
576 instead is flown into an additional fragment box.
577 However, fragment boxes may themselves be broken
578 (due to fragmentation in a fragmentation context outside of them,
579 such as pages, columns, or other fragment boxes);
580 such breaking leads to fragments of the same fragment box
581 rather than multiple fragment boxes.
582 (This matters because fragment boxes may be styled by their index;
583 such breaking leads to multiple fragments of a fragment box
584 with a single index.
585 This design choice is so that
586 breaking a fragment box across pages does not break
587 the association of indices to particular pieces of content.)
588 <span class="issue">Should a forced break that breaks to
589 an outer fragmentation context cause a new fragment of a single
590 fragment box or a new fragment box?</span>
591 <span class="issue">Should we find a term other than
592 <a>fragment box</a> here to make this a little less confusing?</span>
593 </p>
595 <p class="issue">
596 What if we want to be able to style the pieces of an element
597 split within another type of fragmentation context?
598 These rules prevent ever using ''::nth-fragment()'' for that,
599 despite that the name seems the most logical name for such a feature.
600 </p>
602 <div class="example">
603 <table class="source-demo-pair"><tr><td><pre><!DOCTYPE HTML>
604 <title>Breaking content into
605 equal-sized cards</title>
606 <style>
607 .in-cards {
608 overflow: fragments;
610 width: 13em;
611 height: 8em;
613 padding: 4px;
614 border: medium solid blue;
615 margin: 6px;
617 font: medium/1.3 Times New
618 Roman, Times, serif;
619 }
620 </style>
621 <div class="in-cards">
622 In this example, the text in the div
623 is broken into a series of cards.
624 These cards all have the same style.
625 The presence of enough content to
626 overflow one of the cards causes
627 another one to be created. The second
628 card is created just like it's the
629 next sibling of the first.
630 </div></pre></td><td>
631 <div class="in-cards-demo">In this example, the text in the<br>div is broken into a series of<br>cards. These cards all have the<br>same style. The presence of<br>enough content to overflow<br>one of the cards causes another</div>
632 <div class="in-cards-demo">one to be created. The second<br>card is created just like it's the<br>next sibling of the first.</div>
633 </td></tr></table>
634 </div>
636 <p class="issue">
637 We should specify that ''overflow: fragments'' does not apply
638 to at least some table parts,
639 and perhaps other elements as well.
640 We need to determine exactly which ones.
641 </p>
643 <p class="issue">
644 This specification needs to say which type of
645 fragmentation context is created
646 so that it's clear which values of the 'break-*' properties
647 cause breaks within this context.
648 We probably want ''break-*: region'' to apply.
649 </p>
651 <p class="issue">
652 This specification needs a processing model
653 that will apply in cases where the layout containing the
654 fragments has characteristics that use the intrinsic size of the fragments
655 to change the amount of space available for them,
656 such as [[CSS3-GRID-LAYOUT]].
657 There has already been some work on such a processing model
658 in [[CSS3-REGIONS]],
659 and the work done on a model there,
660 and the editors of that specification,
661 should inform what happens in this specification.
662 </p>
664 <h3 id="fragment-styling">Fragment styling</h3>
666 <h4 id="fragment-pseudo-element">The ::nth-fragment() pseudo-element</h4>
668 <p>
669 The ::nth-fragment() pseudo-element is a pseudo-element
670 that describes some of the <a>fragment box</a>es generated by an element.
671 The argument to the pseudo-element takes the same syntax
672 as the argument to the :nth-child() pseudo-class
673 defined in [[!SELECT]], and has the same meaning
674 except that the number is relative to
675 <a>fragment box</a>es generated by the element
676 instead of siblings of the element.
677 </p>
679 <p class="note">
680 Selectors that allow addressing fragments
681 by counting from the end rather than the start
682 are intentionally not provided.
683 Such selectors would interfere with determining
684 the number of fragments.
685 </p>
687 <p class="issue">
688 Depending on future discussions,
689 this ''::nth-fragment(<var>an+b</var>)'' syntax
690 may be replaced with
691 the new ''::fragment:nth(<var>an+b</var>)'' syntax.
692 </p>
694 <h4 id="style-of-fragments">Styling of fragments</h4>
696 <p class="issue">
697 Should this apply to fragment overflow only,
698 or also to paginated overflow?
699 (If it applies,
700 then stricter property restrictions would be needed
701 for paginated overflow.)
702 </p>
704 <p>
705 In the absence of rules with ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements,
706 the computed style for each <a>fragment box</a>
707 is the computed style for the element
708 for which the <a>fragment box</a> was created.
709 However, the style for a <a>fragment box</a> is also influenced
710 by rules whose selector's <a>subject</a> [[!SELECT]]
711 has an ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element,
712 if the 1-based number of the <a>fragment box</a> matches
713 that ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element
714 and the selector (excluding the ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element)
715 matches the element generating the fragments.
716 </p>
718 <p>
719 When determining the style of the <a>fragment box</a>,
720 these rules that match the fragment pseudo-element
721 cascade together with the rules that match the element,
722 with the fragment pseudo-element adding the specificity
723 of a pseudo-class to the specificity calculation.
724 <span class="issue">Does this need to be specified in
725 the cascading module as well?</span>
726 </p>
728 <div class="example">
729 <table class="source-demo-pair"><tr><td><pre><!DOCTYPE HTML>
730 <style>
731 .bouncy-columns {
732 overflow: fragments;
733 width: 6em;
734 height: 10em;
735 float: left;
736 margin: 1em;
737 font: medium/1.25 Times New
738 Roman, Times, serif;
739 }
740 .bouncy-columns::nth-fragment(1) {
741 background: aqua; color: black;
742 transform: rotate(-3deg);
743 }
744 .bouncy-columns::nth-fragment(2) {
745 background: yellow; color: black;
746 transform: rotate(3deg);
747 }
748 </style>
749 <div class="bouncy-columns">
750 <i>...</i>
751 </div></pre></td><td>
752 <div class="bouncy-columns-demo one">In this<br>example, the<br>text in the div<br>is broken into<br>a series of<br>columns. The<br>author<br>probably</div>
753 <div class="bouncy-columns-demo two">intended the<br>text to fill two<br>columns. But<br>if it happens to<br>fill three<br>columns, the<br>third column is<br>still created. It</div>
754 <div class="bouncy-columns-demo">just doesn't<br>have any<br>fragment-specific<br>styling because<br>the author<br>didn't give it<br>any.</div>
755 </td></tr></table>
756 </div>
758 <p>
759 Styling an ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element with the 'overflow'
760 property does take effect;
761 if a <a>fragment box</a> has a
762 computed value of 'overflow' other than ''fragments''
763 then that fragment box is the last fragment.
764 However, overriding 'overflow' on the first fragment
765 does not cause the <a>fragment box</a> not to exist;
766 whether there are fragment boxes at all is determined by
767 the computed value of overflow for the element.
768 <span class="issue">Need to reword this to refer to the
769 appropriate choice of 'overflow-x' or 'overflow-y',
770 and then point to rule about the handling of the other one
771 of 'overflow-x' or 'overflow-y'.</span>
772 </p>
774 <p>
775 Styling an ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element with the 'content'
776 property has no effect;
777 the computed value of 'content' for the fragment box
778 remains the same as the computed value of content for the element.
779 </p>
781 <p>
782 Specifying ''display: none'' for a <a>fragment box</a> causes
783 the fragment box with that index not to be generated.
784 However, in terms of the indices
785 used for matching ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements
786 of later fragment boxes,
787 it still counts as though it was generated.
788 However, since it is not generated, it does not contain any content.
789 </p>
791 <p>
792 Specifying other values of 'display', 'position',
793 or 'float' is permitted, but is not allowed to change
794 the computed value of 'display-inside'.
795 (Since 'overflow', 'overflow-x', and 'overflow-y' only
796 apply to block containers, flex containers, and grid containers
797 the computed value of 'display-inside' is always
798 ''display-inside/block'', ''display-inside/flex'', or
799 ''display-inside/grid''.
800 <span class="issue">Need to specify exactly how this works,
801 but it depends on
802 having 'display-inside' and 'display-outside' specified.</span>
803 </p>
805 <p>
806 To match the model for other pseudo-elements
807 where the pseudo-elements live inside their corresponding element,
808 declarations in ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements override
809 declarations in rules without the pseudo-element.
810 The relative priority within such declarations is determined
811 by normal cascading order (see [[!CSS21]]).
812 </p>
814 <p>
815 Styles specified on ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements
816 do affect inheritance to content within the <a>fragment box</a>.
817 In other words, the content within the <a>fragment box</a> must
818 inherit from the fragment box's style (i.e., the pseudo-element style)
819 rather than directly from the element.
820 This means that elements split between fragment boxes may
821 have different styles for different parts of the element.
822 </p>
824 <p class="issue">
825 This inheritance rule allows specifying styles indirectly
826 (by using explicit ''inherit'' or using default inheritance
827 on properties that don't apply to ''::first-letter'')
828 that can't be specified directly
829 (based on the rules in the next section).
830 This is a problem.
831 The restrictions that apply to styling inside fragments
832 should also apply to inheritance from fragments.
833 </p>
835 <div class="example">
836 <table class="source-demo-pair"><tr><td><pre><!DOCTYPE HTML>
837 <style>
838 .article {
839 overflow: fragments;
840 }
841 .article::nth-fragment(1) {
842 font-size: 1.5em;
843 margin-bottom: 1em;
844 height: 4em;
845 }
846 .article::nth-fragment(2) {
847 margin-left: 5em;
848 margin-right: 2em;
849 }
850 </style>
851 <div class="article">
852 The <code>font-size</code> property<i>...</i>
853 </div></pre></td><td>
854 <div class="article-font-inherit-demo one">The <code>font-size</code> property<br>specified on the fragment<br>is inherited into the</div>
855 <div class="article-font-inherit-demo two">descendants of the fragment.<br>This means that inherited<br>properties can be used<br>reliably on a fragment, as in<br>this example.</div>
856 </td></tr></table>
857 </div>
859 <h4 id="style-in-fragments">Styling inside fragments</h4>
861 <p class="issue">
862 Should this apply to fragment overflow only,
863 or also to paginated overflow,
864 or even to pagination across pages?
865 </p>
867 <p>
868 The ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element
869 can also be used to style
870 content inside of a <a>fragment box</a>.
871 Unlike the ''::first-line'' and ''::first-letter'' pseudo-elements,
872 the ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element can be applied
873 to parts of the selector other than the subject:
874 in particular, it can match ancestors of the subject.
875 However, the only CSS properties applied
876 by rules with such selectors
877 are those that apply
878 to the ''::first-letter'' pseudo-element.
879 </p>
881 <p>
882 To be more precise,
883 when a rule's selector has ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements
884 attached to parts of the selector other than the subject,
885 the declarations in that rule apply to
886 a fragment (or pseudo-element thereof) when:
887 </p>
888 <ol>
889 <li>
890 the declarations are for properties that apply to the
891 ''::first-letter'' pseudo-element,
892 </li>
893 <li>
894 the declarations would apply to
895 that fragment (or pseudo-element thereof)
896 had those ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements been removed,
897 with a particular association between
898 each sequence of simple selectors and the element it matched,
899 and
900 </li>
901 <li>
902 for each removed ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element,
903 the fragment lives within a <a>fragment box</a>
904 of the element associated in that association
905 with the selector that the pseudo-element was attached to,
906 and whose index matches the pseudo-element.
907 </li>
908 </ol>
910 <div class="example">
911 <table class="source-demo-pair"><tr><td><pre><!DOCTYPE HTML>
912 <style>
913 .dark-columns {
914 overflow: fragments;
915 width: 6em;
916 height: 10em;
917 float: left;
918 margin-right: 1em;
919 font: medium/1.25 Times New
920 Roman, Times, serif;
921 }
922 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(1) {
923 background: aqua; color: black;
924 }
925 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(1) :link {
926 color: blue;
927 }
928 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(1) :visited {
929 color: purple;
930 }
931 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(2) {
932 background: navy; color: white;
933 }
934 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(2) :link {
935 color: aqua;
936 }
937 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(2) :visited {
938 color: fuchsia;
939 }
940 </style>
941 <div class="dark-columns">
942 <i>...</i>
943 </div></pre></td><td>
944 <div class="dark-columns-demo one">In this<br><a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/example">example</a>, the<br>text flows<br>from one<br>light-colored<br>fragment into<br>another<br>dark-colored</div>
945 <div class="dark-columns-demo two">fragment. We<br>therefore want<br>different styles<br>for <a href="http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/IntoContext.html">hyperlinks</a><br>in the different<br>fragments.</div>
946 </td></tr></table>
947 </div>
950 <h3 id="max-lines">The 'max-lines' property</h3>
952 <p>
953 Authors may wish to style the opening lines of an element
954 with different styles
955 by putting those opening lines in a separate fragment.
956 However, since it may be difficult to predict the exact height
957 occupied by those lines
958 in order to restrict the first fragment to that height,
959 this specification introduces a 'max-lines' property
960 that forces a fragment to break
961 after a specified number of lines.
962 This forces a break after the given number of lines
963 contained within the element or its descendants,
964 as long as those lines are in the same block formatting context.
965 </p>
967 <pre class=propdef>
968 Name: max-lines
969 Value: none | <integer>
970 Initial: none
971 Applies to: fragment boxes
972 Inherited: no
973 Animatable: as <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-transitions/#animatable-types">integer</a>
974 Percentages: N/A
975 Media: visual
976 Computed value: specified value
977 Canonical order: <abbr title="follows order of property value definition">per grammar</abbr>
978 </pre>
980 <dl dfn-for="max-lines" dfn-type="value">
981 <dt><dfn>none</dfn>
982 <dd>
983 <p>
984 Breaks occur only as specified elsewhere.
985 </p>
986 </dd>
988 <dt><dfn><integer></dfn>
989 <dd>
990 <p>
991 In addition to any breaks specified elsewhere,
992 a break is forced before any line that would exceed
993 the given number of lines
994 being placed inside the element
995 (excluding lines that are in
996 a different block formatting context from
997 the block formatting context to which
998 an unstyled child of the element would belong).
999 </p>
1001 <p class="issue">
1002 If there are multiple boundaries between this line
1003 and the previous, where exactly (in terms of element
1004 boundaries) is the break forced?
1005 </p>
1007 <p>
1008 Only positive integers are accepted.
1009 Zero or negative integers are a parse error.
1010 </p>
1011 </dd>
1012 </dl>
1014 <p class="issue">Should this apply to fragment overflow only, or also
1015 to pagination?</p>
1017 <div class="example">
1018 <table class="source-demo-pair"><tr><td><pre><!DOCTYPE HTML>
1019 <style>
1020 .article {
1021 overflow: fragments;
1022 }
1023 .article::first-letter {
1024 font-size: 2em;
1025 line-height: 0.9;
1026 }
1027 .article::nth-fragment(1) {
1028 font-size: 1.5em;
1029 max-lines: 3;
1030 }
1031 .article::nth-fragment(2) {
1032 column-count: 2;
1033 }
1034 </style>
1035 <div class="article">
1036 <i>...</i>
1037 </div></pre></td><td>
1038 <div class="article-max-lines-demo one">The max-lines property allows<br>authors to use a larger font for the first<br>few lines of an article. Without the</div>
1039 <div class="article-max-lines-demo two">max-lines property, authors<br>might have to use the<br>'height' property instead, but<br>that would leave a slight gap<br>if the author miscalculated<br>how much height a given<br>number of lines would<br>occupy (which might be</div>
1040 <div class="article-max-lines-demo three">particularly hard if the author<br>didn't know what text would<br>be filling the space, exactly<br>what font would be used, or<br>exactly which platform's font<br>rendering would be used to<br>display the font).</div>
1041 </td></tr></table>
1042 </div>
1044 <h2 id="static-media">Overflow in static media</h2>
1046 <p class="issue">
1047 This specification should define useful behavior
1048 for all values of 'overflow'
1049 in static media (such as print).
1050 Current implementation behavior is quite poor and
1051 produces unexpected results when authors have not considered
1052 what will happen when
1053 the content they produce for interactive media
1054 is printed.
1055 </p>
1057 <h2 class=no-num id="acknowledgments">
1058 Acknowledgments</h2>
1060 <p>
1061 Thanks especially to the feedback from
1062 Rossen Atanassov,
1063 Bert Bos,
1064 Tantek Ãelik,
1065 John Daggett,
1066 fantasai,
1067 Daniel Glazman,
1068 Vincent Hardy,
1069 Håkon Wium Lie,
1070 Peter Linss,
1071 Robert O'Callahan,
1072 Florian Rivoal,
1073 Alan Stearns,
1074 Steve Zilles,
1075 and all the rest of the
1076 <a href="http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/">www-style</a> community.
1077 </p>