1. Introduction
This section is non-normative.
This CSS module introduces properties to influence the visual styling of scrollbars, including their color (scrollbar-color) and thickness (scrollbar-width).
1.1. Scope
The CSS Scrollbars Module is specifically for styling scrollbar controls themselves, e.g. their color & width in Level 1, and not their layout nor whether any content is scrollable. All layout impacts and content scrollability are specified in the CSS Overflow Module.
Based on documented use-cases, there are three main use-cases around scrollbars this module intends to resolve:
- Coloring scrollbars to fit better into the UI of a web application.
- Using a thinner scrollbar when the scrolling area is small.
- Hiding UA-provided scrollbars, to allow the provision of custom interfaces for scrolling without affecting other aspects of scrollability.
1.1.1. Out Of Scope
The internal structure, layout, and configuration of scrollbars,
as well as precise control over their coloring, is out of scope.
This is because different platforms have
different scrollbar structures and styling conventions,
and operating systems continuously evolve their scrollbar designs
to provide better user experience.
Pseudo-elements for selecting specific parts of a scrollbar,
for example,
were considered and rejected.
While this level of fine control would be tempting for authors,
the arrangement of the various parts—
Note: Exposing the scrollbar-related ::-webkit- prefixed pseudo-elements to the Web
is considered a mistake by both the CSS Working Group and Webkit.
1.2. Value Definitions
This specification follows the CSS property definition conventions from [CSS2] using the value definition syntax from [CSS-VALUES-3]. Value types not defined in this specification are defined in CSS Values & Units [CSS-VALUES-3]. Combination with other CSS modules may expand the definitions of these value types.
In addition to the property-specific values listed in their definitions, all properties defined in this specification also accept the CSS-wide keywords as their property value. For readability they have not been repeated explicitly.
2. Scrollbar Colors: the scrollbar-color property
| Name: | scrollbar-color |
|---|---|
| Value: | auto | <color>{2} |
| Initial: | auto |
| Applies to: | scroll containers |
| Inherited: | yes |
| Percentages: | n/a |
| Computed value: | specified keyword or two computed colors |
| Canonical order: | per grammar |
| Animation type: | by computed value |
This property allows the author to set colors of an element’s scrollbars.
UAs must apply the scrollbar-color value set on the root element to the viewport.
Note: Unlike overflow (and overflow-*) properties, scrollbar-color value set on the HTML body element are not propagated to the viewport.
- auto
- The user agent determines the colors of the scrollbar. It should follow platform conventions, but may adjust the colors in accordance with color-scheme or other contextual information to better suit the page.
- <color>
- apply the first color to the thumb of the scrollbar, and the second color to the track of the scrollbar.
Details:
Track refers to the background of the scrollbar, which is generally fixed regardless of the scrolling position.
Thumb refers to the moving part of the scrollbar, which usually floats on top of the track.
If this property computes to a value other than auto, implementations may render a simpler scrollbar than the default platform UI rendering, and color it accordingly.
Note: Sometimes the UA is unable to customize the colors of native scrollbars, perhaps due to how they’re structured, or to a lack of control given by the native toolkit. The provision above allows the UA to replace them with differently-constructed scrollbars, which it does know how to color.
(Note: add diagram showing the different named pieces - something like http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/tutorials/scrlbar.html)
(Note: add example of an overflow element with colorized scrollbars to match page styling, PNG of the same in a browser that supports it currently)
Implementations may ignore any of the colors if the corresponding part do not exist on the underlying platform.
When using scrollbar-color property with specific color values, authors should ensure the specified colors have enough contrast between them. For keyword values, UAs should ensure the colors they use have enough contrast. See WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast [WCAG21]. UAs may ignore these contrast requirements based on explicit user preferences (for example, when users choose a configuration option/setting that always ensures a particular scrollbar color / use of system default scrollbars).
Note: when a user interacts with a scrollbar (e.g. hovering or activating), implementations may alter which scrollbar colors apply to which scrollbar parts.
Note: IE uses named System Colors as defaults for each of the scrollbar color properties. See related Issue 1956.
The following example (derived from https://www.w3.org/Style/Examples/007/scrollbars.en.html) resets scrollbar colors in IE.
html {
scrollbar-color: ThreeDFace Scrollbar;
}3. Scrollbar Thickness: the scrollbar-width property
| Name: | scrollbar-width |
|---|---|
| Value: | auto | thin | none |
| Initial: | auto |
| Applies to: | scroll containers |
| Inherited: | no |
| Percentages: | n/a |
| Computed value: | specified keyword |
| Canonical order: | per grammar |
| Animation type: | by computed value |
This property allows the author to specify the desired thickness of an element’s scrollbars.
- auto
- Implementations must use the default platform scrollbar width.
- thin
-
Implementations should use thinner scrollbars than auto.
This may mean a thin variant of scrollbar provided by the platform,
or a custom scrollbar thinner than the default platform scrollbar.
The scrollbar should nonetheless remain wide enough to be usable.
(Implementers may wish to consult WCAG 2.1 SC 2.5.5 Target Size. [WCAG21])
Note: Some platforms only have a tiny scrollbar by default which cannot be reasonably made thinner. In such cases, this value will behave as auto.
- none
-
Implementations must not display any scrollbar,
however the element’s scrollability by other means is not affected.
Using this value can prevent mouse-only users from being able to scroll. Authors should ensure that mouse-only users can still reach hidden content, even if they have no scrollwheel.Authors that use none should provide an alternative/equivalent visual hint that scrolling is possible and there is more content.
Note: For situations where an element is to be scrolled only by programmatic means, and not by direct user manipulation, authors should use overflow: hidden instead of scrollbar-width: none.
UAs must apply the scrollbar-width value set on the root element to the viewport.
Note: Unlike the overflow property (and its longhands),
a scrollbar-width value set on the HTML body element is not propagated to the viewport.
Note: This specification does not define the exact position or shape of the scrollbar, or any animation thereof, such as fading or sliding in/out of view.
Appendix A. Acknowledgments
This appendix is informative.
Thanks to the use-cases, prototyping, implementation, and feedback from Tab Atkins and Xidorn Quan. Thanks to accessibility review and contributions (#3315) from Patrick H. Lauke.
Appendix B. Changes
This appendix is informative.
Changes from the 2021-08-05 Working Draft
None yet.
Changes from the 2018-09-25 First Public Working Draft
- #6538: removed light and dark values of scrollbar-color in favor of allowing the UA to tune auto in accordance with color-scheme or other contextual information.
- #3237: scrollbar-color computed value changed to: specified keyword or two computed colors
- #4693: Clarified scope: styling scrollbar controls themselves, no layout or scrollability.
- #3315: More and updated accessibility considerations for scrollbar-color and scrollbar-width.
Appendix C. Considerations for Security and Privacy
This appendix is informative.
Considerations for Security
No specific concerns regarding security have been identified for this specification.
Considerations for Privacy
No specific concerns regarding privacy have been identified for this specification.
Self-review questionaire
Per the Self-Review Questionnaire: Security and Privacy: Questions to Consider
-
Does this specification deal with personally-identifiable information?
No.
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Does this specification deal with high-value data?
No.
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Does this specification introduce new state for an origin that persists across browsing sessions?
No.
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Does this specification expose persistent, cross-origin state to the web?
No.
-
Does this specification expose any other data to an origin that it doesn’t currently have access to?
No.
-
Does this specification enable new script execution/loading mechanisms?
No.
-
Does this specification allow an origin access to a user’s location?
No.
-
Does this specification allow an origin access to sensors on a user’s device?
No.
-
Does this specification allow an origin access to aspects of a user’s local computing environment?
No.
-
Does this specification allow an origin access to other devices?
No.
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Does this specification allow an origin some measure of control over a user agent’s native UI?
Yes. The scrollbar-* properties enable the page to change the color and width of the scrollbar of the user agent’s native UI, e.g. scrollbars on the page’s window, on framed content embedded in the page, or on overflowing elements with scrollbars in the page.
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Does this specification expose temporary identifiers to the web?
No.
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Does this specification distinguish between behavior in first-party and third-party contexts?
No.
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How should this specification work in the context of a user agent’s "incognito" mode?
No differently.
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Does this specification persist data to a user’s local device?
No.
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Does this specification have a "Security Considerations" and "Privacy Considerations" section?
Yes.
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Does this specification allow downgrading default security characteristics?
No.