CSS top
The CSS top
property specifies how far a box's top margin edge is offset from the top edge of the box's containing block.
The property allows you to specify how far the element is offset from the top edge of its containing block (for absolute positioning), or from where the positioned element's top edge would normally have been (for relative positioning). If it's a stickily positioned box, the top
property's value is used to compute the sticky-constraint rectangle.
The top
property is used in conjunction with the position
property when its value is anything other than static
.
Also see the bottom
, left
, and right
properties.
Syntax
These values are explained below.
Possible Values
auto
-
Specifies the following:
- for absolutely positioned elements, the position of the element is based on the
bottom
property, andheight: auto
will be treated as a height based on the content. - for relatively positioned elements, the offset the element from its original position is based on the
bottom
property, or if the value ofbottom
is alsoauto
, no offset occurs at all.
- for absolutely positioned elements, the position of the element is based on the
- percentage
-
Specifies the offset as a percentage. The offset is a percentage of the containing block's height. For stickily positioned elements, the offset is a percentage of the flow root's height. Negative values are allowed.
- length
-
Specifies the offset as a length. The offset is a fixed distance from the reference edge. Negative values are allowed.
In addition, all CSS properties also accept the following CSS-wide keyword values as the sole component of their property value:
initial
- Represents the value specified as the property's initial value.
inherit
- Represents the computed value of the property on the element's parent.
unset
- This value acts as either
inherit
orinitial
, depending on whether the property is inherited or not. In other words, it sets all properties to their parent value if they are inheritable or to their initial value if not inheritable.
General Information
- Initial Value
auto
- Applies To
- Positioned elements.
- Inherited?
- No
- Media
- Visual
- Animatable
- Yes (see example)
Example Code
Official Specifications
- CSS Positioned Layout Module Level 3 (W3C Working Draft)
- CSS Level 2.1 (W3C Recommendation 07 June 2011)