CSS break-before property

Definition and Usage

The break-before property specifies whether a page break (page-break), column break (column-break), or region break (region-break) should occur before the specified element.

The break-before property extends the page-break-before property of CSS2.

By using break-before, you can inform the browser to interrupt the page, column, or region before the element with the break-after attribute, or to avoid splitting the element and spanning two pages.

Examples

Always insert a page break before the <h1> element:

@media print {
  h1 {
    break-before: always;
  }
}

CSS Syntax

break-before: auto|all|always|avoid|avoid-column|avoid-page|avoid-region|column|left|page|recto|region|right|verso|initial|inherit;

Property value

Value Description
auto Default. Automatically paginate, columnize, or regionize before the element.
all Always insert a page break immediately before the main frame.
always Always insert a page break (page-break) before the element.
avoid Avoid page, column, or region breaks before the element.
avoid-column Avoid inserting a column break before the element.
avoid-page Avoid inserting a page break before the element.
avoid-region Avoid inserting a region break before the element.
column Always insert a column break before the element.
left Insert one or two page breaks before the element to format the next page as a left page.
page Always insert a page break before the element.
recto Insert one or two page breaks before the main frame to format the next page as a recto page.
region Always insert a region break before the element.
right Insert one or two page breaks before the element to format the next page as a right page.
verso Insert one or two page breaks before the main frame to format the next page as a verso page.
initial Sets this property to its default value. See initial.
inherit Inherits this property from its parent element. See inherit.

Technical details

Default value: auto
Inheritance: No
Animation production: Not supported. See:Animation-related properties.
Version: CSS3
JavaScript syntax: object.style.breakBefore="always"

More examples

Examples

To ensure that all new chapters start on the correct page (such as in a book), you can use break-before: on all <h1> elements:

@media print {
  h1 {
    break-before: right;
  }
}

Examples

Always insert a region-break: before the <ul> within the region:

.region ul {
    break-before: region;
  }
}

Browser support

The numbers in the table indicate the first browser version that fully supports this attribute.

Chrome IE / Edge Firefox Safari Opera
50.0 10.0 65.0 10.0 37.0