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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://hg.csswg.org/drafts/log/tip/css-overflow/Overview.bs">from 27 January 2015 to the present</a>
14 !Change Log: <a href="https://hg.csswg.org/drafts/log/tip/css-overflow/Overview.src.html">from 28 March 2013 to 27 January 2015</a>
15 !Change Log: <a href="https://hg.csswg.org/drafts/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 <dfn selector>::nth-fragment()</dfn> pseudo-element
670 is a pseudo-element
671 that describes some of the <a>fragment box</a>es generated by an element.
672 The argument to the pseudo-element takes the same syntax
673 as the argument to the :nth-child() pseudo-class
674 defined in [[!SELECT]], and has the same meaning
675 except that the number is relative to
676 <a>fragment box</a>es generated by the element
677 instead of siblings of the element.
678 </p>
680 <p class="note">
681 Selectors that allow addressing fragments
682 by counting from the end rather than the start
683 are intentionally not provided.
684 Such selectors would interfere with determining
685 the number of fragments.
686 </p>
688 <p class="issue">
689 Depending on future discussions,
690 this ''::nth-fragment(<var>an+b</var>)'' syntax
691 may be replaced with
692 the new ''::fragment:nth(<var>an+b</var>)'' syntax.
693 </p>
695 <h4 id="style-of-fragments">Styling of fragments</h4>
697 <p class="issue">
698 Should this apply to fragment overflow only,
699 or also to paginated overflow?
700 (If it applies,
701 then stricter property restrictions would be needed
702 for paginated overflow.)
703 </p>
705 <p>
706 In the absence of rules with ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements,
707 the computed style for each <a>fragment box</a>
708 is the computed style for the element
709 for which the <a>fragment box</a> was created.
710 However, the style for a <a>fragment box</a> is also influenced
711 by rules whose selector's <a>subject</a> [[!SELECT]]
712 has an ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element,
713 if the 1-based number of the <a>fragment box</a> matches
714 that ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element
715 and the selector (excluding the ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element)
716 matches the element generating the fragments.
717 </p>
719 <p>
720 When determining the style of the <a>fragment box</a>,
721 these rules that match the fragment pseudo-element
722 cascade together with the rules that match the element,
723 with the fragment pseudo-element adding the specificity
724 of a pseudo-class to the specificity calculation.
725 <span class="issue">Does this need to be specified in
726 the cascading module as well?</span>
727 </p>
729 <div class="example">
730 <table class="source-demo-pair"><tr><td><pre><!DOCTYPE HTML>
731 <style>
732 .bouncy-columns {
733 overflow: fragments;
734 width: 6em;
735 height: 10em;
736 float: left;
737 margin: 1em;
738 font: medium/1.25 Times New
739 Roman, Times, serif;
740 }
741 .bouncy-columns::nth-fragment(1) {
742 background: aqua; color: black;
743 transform: rotate(-3deg);
744 }
745 .bouncy-columns::nth-fragment(2) {
746 background: yellow; color: black;
747 transform: rotate(3deg);
748 }
749 </style>
750 <div class="bouncy-columns">
751 <i>...</i>
752 </div></pre></td><td>
753 <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>
754 <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>
755 <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>
756 </td></tr></table>
757 </div>
759 <p>
760 Styling an ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element with the 'overflow'
761 property does take effect;
762 if a <a>fragment box</a> has a
763 computed value of 'overflow' other than ''fragments''
764 then that fragment box is the last fragment.
765 However, overriding 'overflow' on the first fragment
766 does not cause the <a>fragment box</a> not to exist;
767 whether there are fragment boxes at all is determined by
768 the computed value of overflow for the element.
769 <span class="issue">Need to reword this to refer to the
770 appropriate choice of 'overflow-x' or 'overflow-y',
771 and then point to rule about the handling of the other one
772 of 'overflow-x' or 'overflow-y'.</span>
773 </p>
775 <p>
776 Styling an ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element with the 'content'
777 property has no effect;
778 the computed value of 'content' for the fragment box
779 remains the same as the computed value of content for the element.
780 </p>
782 <p>
783 Specifying ''display: none'' for a <a>fragment box</a> causes
784 the fragment box with that index not to be generated.
785 However, in terms of the indices
786 used for matching ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements
787 of later fragment boxes,
788 it still counts as though it was generated.
789 However, since it is not generated, it does not contain any content.
790 </p>
792 <p>
793 Specifying other values of 'display', 'position',
794 or 'float' is permitted, but is not allowed to change
795 the computed value of 'display-inside'.
796 (Since 'overflow', 'overflow-x', and 'overflow-y' only
797 apply to block containers, flex containers, and grid containers
798 the computed value of 'display-inside' is always
799 ''display-inside/block'', ''display-inside/flex'', or
800 ''display-inside/grid''.
801 <span class="issue">Need to specify exactly how this works,
802 but it depends on
803 having 'display-inside' and 'display-outside' specified.</span>
804 </p>
806 <p>
807 To match the model for other pseudo-elements
808 where the pseudo-elements live inside their corresponding element,
809 declarations in ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements override
810 declarations in rules without the pseudo-element.
811 The relative priority within such declarations is determined
812 by normal cascading order (see [[!CSS21]]).
813 </p>
815 <p>
816 Styles specified on ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements
817 do affect inheritance to content within the <a>fragment box</a>.
818 In other words, the content within the <a>fragment box</a> must
819 inherit from the fragment box's style (i.e., the pseudo-element style)
820 rather than directly from the element.
821 This means that elements split between fragment boxes may
822 have different styles for different parts of the element.
823 </p>
825 <p class="issue">
826 This inheritance rule allows specifying styles indirectly
827 (by using explicit ''inherit'' or using default inheritance
828 on properties that don't apply to ''::first-letter'')
829 that can't be specified directly
830 (based on the rules in the next section).
831 This is a problem.
832 The restrictions that apply to styling inside fragments
833 should also apply to inheritance from fragments.
834 </p>
836 <div class="example">
837 <table class="source-demo-pair"><tr><td><pre><!DOCTYPE HTML>
838 <style>
839 .article {
840 overflow: fragments;
841 }
842 .article::nth-fragment(1) {
843 font-size: 1.5em;
844 margin-bottom: 1em;
845 height: 4em;
846 }
847 .article::nth-fragment(2) {
848 margin-left: 5em;
849 margin-right: 2em;
850 }
851 </style>
852 <div class="article">
853 The <code>font-size</code> property<i>...</i>
854 </div></pre></td><td>
855 <div class="article-font-inherit-demo one">The <code>font-size</code> property<br>specified on the fragment<br>is inherited into the</div>
856 <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>
857 </td></tr></table>
858 </div>
860 <h4 id="style-in-fragments">Styling inside fragments</h4>
862 <p class="issue">
863 Should this apply to fragment overflow only,
864 or also to paginated overflow,
865 or even to pagination across pages?
866 </p>
868 <p>
869 The ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element
870 can also be used to style
871 content inside of a <a>fragment box</a>.
872 Unlike the ''::first-line'' and ''::first-letter'' pseudo-elements,
873 the ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element can be applied
874 to parts of the selector other than the subject:
875 in particular, it can match ancestors of the subject.
876 However, the only CSS properties applied
877 by rules with such selectors
878 are those that apply
879 to the ''::first-letter'' pseudo-element.
880 </p>
882 <p>
883 To be more precise,
884 when a rule's selector has ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements
885 attached to parts of the selector other than the subject,
886 the declarations in that rule apply to
887 a fragment (or pseudo-element thereof) when:
888 </p>
889 <ol>
890 <li>
891 the declarations are for properties that apply to the
892 ''::first-letter'' pseudo-element,
893 </li>
894 <li>
895 the declarations would apply to
896 that fragment (or pseudo-element thereof)
897 had those ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-elements been removed,
898 with a particular association between
899 each sequence of simple selectors and the element it matched,
900 and
901 </li>
902 <li>
903 for each removed ''::nth-fragment()'' pseudo-element,
904 the fragment lives within a <a>fragment box</a>
905 of the element associated in that association
906 with the selector that the pseudo-element was attached to,
907 and whose index matches the pseudo-element.
908 </li>
909 </ol>
911 <div class="example">
912 <table class="source-demo-pair"><tr><td><pre><!DOCTYPE HTML>
913 <style>
914 .dark-columns {
915 overflow: fragments;
916 width: 6em;
917 height: 10em;
918 float: left;
919 margin-right: 1em;
920 font: medium/1.25 Times New
921 Roman, Times, serif;
922 }
923 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(1) {
924 background: aqua; color: black;
925 }
926 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(1) :link {
927 color: blue;
928 }
929 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(1) :visited {
930 color: purple;
931 }
932 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(2) {
933 background: navy; color: white;
934 }
935 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(2) :link {
936 color: aqua;
937 }
938 .dark-columns::nth-fragment(2) :visited {
939 color: fuchsia;
940 }
941 </style>
942 <div class="dark-columns">
943 <i>...</i>
944 </div></pre></td><td>
945 <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>
946 <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>
947 </td></tr></table>
948 </div>
951 <h3 id="max-lines">The 'max-lines' property</h3>
953 <p>
954 Authors may wish to style the opening lines of an element
955 with different styles
956 by putting those opening lines in a separate fragment.
957 However, since it may be difficult to predict the exact height
958 occupied by those lines
959 in order to restrict the first fragment to that height,
960 this specification introduces a 'max-lines' property
961 that forces a fragment to break
962 after a specified number of lines.
963 This forces a break after the given number of lines
964 contained within the element or its descendants,
965 as long as those lines are in the same block formatting context.
966 </p>
968 <pre class=propdef>
969 Name: max-lines
970 Value: none | <integer>
971 Initial: none
972 Applies to: fragment boxes
973 Inherited: no
974 Animatable: as <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-transitions/#animatable-types">integer</a>
975 Percentages: N/A
976 Media: visual
977 Computed value: specified value
978 Canonical order: <abbr title="follows order of property value definition">per grammar</abbr>
979 </pre>
981 <dl dfn-for="max-lines" dfn-type="value">
982 <dt><dfn>none</dfn>
983 <dd>
984 <p>
985 Breaks occur only as specified elsewhere.
986 </p>
987 </dd>
989 <dt><dfn><integer></dfn>
990 <dd>
991 <p>
992 In addition to any breaks specified elsewhere,
993 a break is forced before any line that would exceed
994 the given number of lines
995 being placed inside the element
996 (excluding lines that are in
997 a different block formatting context from
998 the block formatting context to which
999 an unstyled child of the element would belong).
1000 </p>
1002 <p class="issue">
1003 If there are multiple boundaries between this line
1004 and the previous, where exactly (in terms of element
1005 boundaries) is the break forced?
1006 </p>
1008 <p>
1009 Only positive integers are accepted.
1010 Zero or negative integers are a parse error.
1011 </p>
1012 </dd>
1013 </dl>
1015 <p class="issue">Should this apply to fragment overflow only, or also
1016 to pagination?</p>
1018 <div class="example">
1019 <table class="source-demo-pair"><tr><td><pre><!DOCTYPE HTML>
1020 <style>
1021 .article {
1022 overflow: fragments;
1023 }
1024 .article::first-letter {
1025 font-size: 2em;
1026 line-height: 0.9;
1027 }
1028 .article::nth-fragment(1) {
1029 font-size: 1.5em;
1030 max-lines: 3;
1031 }
1032 .article::nth-fragment(2) {
1033 column-count: 2;
1034 }
1035 </style>
1036 <div class="article">
1037 <i>...</i>
1038 </div></pre></td><td>
1039 <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>
1040 <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>
1041 <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>
1042 </td></tr></table>
1043 </div>
1045 <h2 id="static-media">Overflow in static media</h2>
1047 <p class="issue">
1048 This specification should define useful behavior
1049 for all values of 'overflow'
1050 in static media (such as print).
1051 Current implementation behavior is quite poor and
1052 produces unexpected results when authors have not considered
1053 what will happen when
1054 the content they produce for interactive media
1055 is printed.
1056 </p>
1058 <h2 class=no-num id="acknowledgments">
1059 Acknowledgments</h2>
1061 <p>
1062 Thanks especially to the feedback from
1063 Rossen Atanassov,
1064 Bert Bos,
1065 Tantek Ãelik,
1066 John Daggett,
1067 fantasai,
1068 Daniel Glazman,
1069 Vincent Hardy,
1070 Håkon Wium Lie,
1071 Peter Linss,
1072 Robert O'Callahan,
1073 Florian Rivoal,
1074 Alan Stearns,
1075 Steve Zilles,
1076 and all the rest of the
1077 <a href="http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/">www-style</a> community.
1078 </p>