overflow-scroll-gradient.md

Overflow scroll gradient

Adds a fading gradient to an overflowing element to better indicate there is more content to be scrolled.

HTML

<div class="overflow-scroll-gradient">
  <div class="overflow-scroll-gradient__scroller">
    Content to be scrolled
  </div>
</div>

CSS

.overflow-scroll-gradient {
  position: relative;
}
.overflow-scroll-gradient::after {
  content: '';
  position: absolute;
  bottom: 0;
  width: 240px;
  height: 25px;
  background: linear-gradient(
    rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.001),
    white
  ); /* transparent keyword is broken in Safari */
  pointer-events: none;
}
.overflow-scroll-gradient__scroller {
  overflow-y: scroll;
  background: white;
  width: 240px;
  height: 200px;
  padding: 15px 0;
  line-height: 1.2;
  text-align: center;
}

Demo

Content to be scrolled

<style> .snippet-demo__overflow-scroll-gradient { position: relative; } .snippet-demo__overflow-scroll-gradient::after { content: ''; background: linear-gradient(rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.001), white); position: absolute; width: 240px; height: 25px; bottom: 0; pointer-events: none; } .snippet-demo__overflow-scroll-gradient__scroller { overflow-y: scroll; background: white; width: 240px; height: 200px; padding: 15px 0; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; } </style> <script> document.querySelector('.snippet-demo__overflow-scroll-gradient__scroller').innerHTML = 'content '.repeat(100) </script>

Explanation

1. position: relative on the parent establishes a Cartesian positioning context for pseudo-elements.
2. ::after defines a pseudo element.
3. background-image: linear-gradient(...) adds a linear gradient that fades from transparent to white (top to bottom).
4. position: absolute takes the pseudo element out of the flow of the document and positions it in relation to the parent.
5. width: 240px matches the size of the scrolling element (which is a child of the parent that has the pseudo element).
6. height: 25px is the height of the fading gradient pseudo-element, which should be kept relatively small.
7. bottom: 0 positions the pseudo-element at the bottom of the parent.
8. pointer-events: none specifies that the pseudo-element cannot be a target of mouse events, allowing text behind it to still be selectable/interactive.

Browser support

✅ No caveats.

• https://caniuse.com/#feat=css-gradients