CSS clip Property

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The clip property allows a rectangle to clip a positioned element. The rectangle is specified as four coordinates: top, right, bottom, left. The values of top and bottom specify offsets from the inside top border edge of the box, while the values of right and left specify offsets from the inside left border edge of the box. All four sides may be either a length or auto. "Auto" is the default value.

The clip property does not work if the value of the overflow property is set to visible.

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If possible the newer clip-path property can be used instead because the clip property is deprecated.

Initial Value	auto
Applies to	"Absolutely" positioned elements.
Inherited	No.
Animatable	Yes. Background-color is animatable.
Version	CSS2
DOM Syntax	object.style.clip = "rect(10px,40px,40px,10px)";

Syntax

clip: auto | shape | initial | inherit;

Example of the clip property:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      img {
        position: absolute;
        clip: auto;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <img src="/uploads/media/default/0001/01/003e5c463668d174ab70bea245c192d81901a4a6.png" alt="W3docs.com">
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Result

In the following example the rectangle clips the image according to the set values.

Example of the clip property with the "rect" value:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      img {
        position: absolute;
        clip: rect(0px, 70px, 200px, 0px);
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <img src="/uploads/media/default/0001/01/003e5c463668d174ab70bea245c192d81901a4a6.png" alt="W3docs.com logo">
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Values

Value	Description	Play it
auto	Does not clip an element. This is defautl value.	Play it »
shape	Clips an element. The only valid value is: rect (top, right, bottom, left).	Play it »
initial	It makes the property use its default value.	Play it »
inherit	It inherits the property from its parents element.