CSS Overflow Problems & it’s Solutions
A rectangular box is used to represent every element on a page. CSS may be used to adjust the size, position, and behavior of these boxes. When I say behavior, I’m referring to how the box reacts to changes in the information inside and around it. If you don’t set the height of a box, for example, the height of that box will increase to the size required to contain the content. But what if you provide a box a specified height or width and the stuff inside it doesn’t fit? The CSS overflow property comes into play here, allowing you to specify how you want this to be handled.
The overflow property has four options: visible (default), hidden, scroll, and auto. Overflow-y and overflow-x are some traits that have less broad acceptance.
You may have encountered horizontal scrollbar issues as a front-end developer, especially on mobile. There is no simple answer to scrollbar problems because there are so many causes. Some issues can be resolved quickly, while others require some debugging expertise.
You may have encountered horizontal scrollbar issues as a front-end developer, especially on mobile. There is no simple answer to scrollbar problems because there are so many causes. Some issues can be resolved quickly, while others require some debugging expertise.
What Problem is there With Overflow?
To begin, let’s define an overflow. When a horizontal scrollbar appears unintentionally on a web page, allowing the user to scroll horizontally, it is called an overflow.
Content that is unexpectedly wide or a fixed-width element that is wider than the viewport could be to blame for this error. In this article, we will examine all of the causes.
Overflow Detection Techniques
The first step in resolving this problem is to recognize it. It is possible to target a specific part of a web page if we know when and where it happens. To detect overflow, you can manually scroll left or right or use JavaScript.
Now let’s look at the different methods for detecting overflow.
Left or right scrolling :
As soon as you scroll horizontally down the page, you’ll notice an overflow issue. A scrolling error message indicates that there is a problem with the page.
Utilizing Javascript To Find Elements that are larger :
Using the browser console, we can display any elements that are wider than the body. This is especially useful for pages with a large number of components.
var docWidth = document.documentElement.offsetWidth;
[].forEach.call(
document.querySelectorAll(‘*’),
function(el) {
if (el.offsetWidth > docWidth) {
console.log(el);
}
}
);
Code: Browser Console using Javascript
Sample Code:
* {
outline: solid 1px red;
}
REMOVING ELEMENTS FROM A PAGE
Another popular method is to use the browser’s DevTools to delete items one by one. When the problem goes away, the area you just eliminated is most likely to blame. This strategy worked well for me in situations where I knew what was wrong but didn’t know why it was happening.
It will be easy to create a smaller test case for further troubleshooting once you’ve discovered where the overflow is occurring.
Typical Overflow Problems
Elements with a Fixed Width
Fixed-width items are one of the most common sources of overflow. In general, any element that should work in many viewport sizes should not have its width fixed.
element {
/* Don’t do this */
width: 400px;
}
Code: Don’t make this type of mistake while coding
Typical Overflow Problems(FLEXBOX)
Elements with a Fixed Width
Fixed-width items are one of the most common sources of overflow. In general, any element that should work in many viewport sizes should not have its width fixed.
When the flex parent is supposed to work at multiple viewport widths, make sure to use flex-wrap: wrap.
Example:
.parent {
display: flex;
/* Do this */
flex-wrap: wrap;
}
GRID CSS
It’s critical to design responsively when utilizing a CSS grid. Consider the grid below:
.wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 1fr 300px 1fr;
grid-gap: 1rem;
}
Unless the viewport is smaller than 300 pixels, the example above will work perfectly. If it is, then there will be an overflow.
To avoid this problem, utilize the grid only when there is enough room. A CSS media query can be used in the following way:
.wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 1fr;
grid-gap: 1rem;
}
@media (min-width: 400px) {
.wrapper {
grid-template-columns: 1fr 300px 1fr;
}
}
CSS trusts you to know what you’re doing when you set a box’s width or height. CSS thinks you’re dealing with the possibility of overflow. When the box contains text, restricting the block dimension is problematic in general. It’s possible that there’s more text than you anticipated when developing the site, or that the text is larger. (For example, if the user’s font size has been increased)
The next two classes go through how to control size in a way that is less likely to overflow. You may, however, adjust how the overflow works if you need a specific size.
A Block Formatting Context is created when there is an overflow
You establish a Block Formatting Context when you employ an overflow value like scroll or auto (BFC). The content of the box for which you altered the overflow value takes on a self-contained layout. Nothing can poke into the container from outside, and nothing can poke out of the container into the surrounding area. This allows for scrolling because all box information must be contained and not overlap in order to provide a consistent scrolling experience.
Overflow in Web Design
Overflow is managed using modern layout approaches (explained in CSS layout). They mostly work without making any assumptions or relying on how much content will be on a web page.
This hasn’t always been the case, though. To line the bottoms of boxes, some locations used fixed-height containers in the past. Otherwise, there may be no connection between these boxes. This was a delicate situation. A box where content is overlaying other content on the page may appear in a legacy application. You can see how this happens when there is an overflow. You should ideally rework the layout to eliminate the use of fixed-height containers.
Finally, we’ll say You should be aware that default CSS prevents overflowing content from being invisible. You’ve learned that you can deal with potential overflow and that you should test your work to ensure that it doesn’t create any problems.