CSS `background-clip`: Control Background Painting Area
Master background styling in CSS with the `background-clip` property. This tutorial explains how to control where the background color or image is painted, relative to the border, padding, and content area, enabling precise visual control of your elements.
Understanding the CSS `background-clip` Property
The CSS `background-clip` property controls where the background (color or image) of an element is painted. It essentially defines the boundaries of the background area.
How `background-clip` Works
The `background-clip` property determines whether the background extends under the border, padding, or only the content area of an element. Anything outside the specified clipping area will be hidden.
Syntax
The syntax is:
background-clip: border-box | padding-box | content-box | inherit;
Property Values
Let's explore each value with examples (note: The "Test it Now" links below are placeholders; to see the effect, you would need to create HTML and CSS code and style an element accordingly):
border-box
(Default) The background extends to the outer edge of the border. The background will be visible under the border, padding, and content areas.
padding-box
The background extends to the inner edge of the padding. The background will be visible under the padding and content areas, but not under the border.
content-box
The background is limited to the content area only. The background will not be visible under the padding or border.