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;
 
| 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.
| Property | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| text-overflow | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3.1 | 11 | 
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