clip

The clip CSS property defines what portion of an element is visible. The clip property applies only to absolutely positioned elements, that is elements with position:absolute or position:fixed.

Initial value	auto
Applies to	absolutely positioned elements
Inherited	no
Media	visual
Computed value	auto if specified as auto, otherwise a rectangle with four values, each of which is auto if specified as auto or the computed length otherwise
Animation type	a rectangle
Canonical order	the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Syntax

/* Keyword value */
clip: auto;

/* <shape> values */
clip: rect(1px 10em 3rem 2ch);
clip: rect(1px, 10em, 3rem, 2ch);

/* Global values */
clip: inherit;
clip: initial;
clip: unset;

Values

<shape>

A rectangular <shape> of the form rect(<top>, <right>, <bottom>, <left>) or of the form rect(<top> <right> <bottom> <left>) (which is a more backwards compatible syntax) <top> and <bottom> specify offsets from the inside top border edge of the box, and <right>, and <left> specify offsets from the inside left border edge of the box — that is, the extent of the padding box.

<top>, <right>, <bottom>, and <left> may either have a <length> value or auto. If any side's value is auto, the element is clipped to that side's inside border edge.

auto

The element does not clip (default value). Note that this is distinct from rect(auto, auto, auto, auto), which does clip to the inside border edges of the element.

Formal syntax

<shape> | auto
where 
<shape> = rect(<top>, <right>, <bottom>, <left>)

Examples

.dotted-border { 
   border: dotted;  
   position: relative; 
   width: 536px;
   height: 350px;
}

#top-left, #middle, #bottom-right {
   position: absolute;
   top: 0px;
}

#top-left {
   left: 360px;
   clip: rect(0px, 175px, 113px, 0px); 
}


#middle {
   left: 280px;
   clip: rect(119px, 255px, 229px, 80px); 
   /* standard syntax, unsupported by Internet Explorer 4-7 */
}

#bottom-right {
   left: 200px;
   clip: rect(235px 335px 345px 160px);
   /* non-standard syntax, but supported by all major browsers*/
}

<p class="dotted-border">
   <img src="https://developer.mozilla.org/@api/deki/files/3613/=hut.jpg" title="Original Graphic" /> 
   <img id="top-left" src="https://developer.mozilla.org/@api/deki/files/3613/=hut.jpg" title="Graphic clipped to upper left"> 
   <img id="middle" src="https://developer.mozilla.org/@api/deki/files/3613/=hut.jpg" title="Graphic clipped towards middle"> 
   <img id="bottom-right" src="https://developer.mozilla.org/@api/deki/files/3613/=hut.jpg" title="Graphic clipped to bottom right">
</p>

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Masking Module Level 1 The definition of 'clip' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	Deprecates clip property, suggests clip-path as replacement.
CSS Transitions The definition of 'clip' in that specification.	Working Draft	Defines clip as animatable.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'clip' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

[1] Internet Explorer up to version 7.0 and Safari up to at least 5.1.7 incorrectly interpret clip: auto as clip: rect(auto, auto, auto, auto).

See also

• Related CSS properties: text-overflow, white-space, overflow-x, overflow-y, overflow, display, position