SCROLLIN' ALONG...
Overview Article
Part 2 -
Discussion of Results
Since the behavior of the Default Scrollbars vary greatly from one Browser to another, it would be more suitable to summarize and/or analyze the results for each Browser tested individualy.
Default Values
The results of tests conducted very clearly identified the default values of the "overflow" property of the body and html elements. However, the same cannot be said in the case of the Phantom of Opera.
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Browser Version |
IExplorer 6.0 & 7.0 |
Mozilla 1.7 |
FireFox 1.5 |
Netscape 7.1 & 8.1 |
Opera 7.54 |
Opera 9.01 |
| Body | Visible | Visible | Visible | Visible | Visible | Visible* |
| Html | Auto | Visible | Visible | Visible | Visible | Visible |
| Phantom | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ??? | N/A |
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NOTE:
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At this point, let's see what W3C has to say on this matter:
CSS 2.1 refers to this subject under 11.1.1 "Overflow: the 'overflow' property":
...."UAs must apply the 'overflow' property set on the root element to the viewport. HTML UAs must instead apply the 'overflow' property from the BODY element to the viewport, if the value on the HTML element is 'visible'. The 'visible' value when used for the viewport must be interpreted as 'auto'. The element from which the value is propagated must have a used value for 'overflow' of 'visible'.".....
» Reference Date: July 07, 2007
http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/visufx.html#overflow
It appears that setting the overflow of the HTML element to visible is done with the explicit blessing of W3C.
Default Scrollbars
The results of tests conducted very clearly identified which element the Default Scrollbars of a given Browser belongs to and which element controls them, perhaps with some uncertainity in the case of Phantom of Opera.
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Browser Version |
IExplorer 6.0 & 7.0 |
Mozilla 1.7 |
FireFox 1.5 |
Netscape 7.1 & 8.1 |
Opera 7.54 |
Opera 9.01 |
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| Belong To: |
V | Html | Html | Html | Html | Phantom | Html |
| H | Html | Html | Html | Html | Html??? | Html | |
| Controlled By: | V | Html | Body | Body | Body | Body | Body |
| H | Html | Body | Body | Body | Body | Body | |
Sanity Check
The results summarized above, raises some serious questions,
The results of tests with Internet Explorer shows that:
- The default value of the 'overflow' property of the html element is auto.
- The Default Scrollbars belong to the html element.
- The Default Scrollbars are controlled by the html element.
Now, that makes sense and follows logic, at least in my way of analyzing things!
However, when it comes to other browsers:
- The default value of the 'overflow' property of the html element is visible. A question follows: Where is it going to overflow to? Thin air?
- The Default Scrollbars belong to the html element, 'overfow" property of which is already set to visible!
- The Default Scrollbars are controlled by the body element, 'overfow" property of which is already set to visible!
Now, that makes no sense and and defies logic, at least in my engineering mind!
Bottom Line
The only common denominator in this 5x5 matrix for the Browsers tested, is a single combination:
»» html {overflow: hidden;} AND body {overflow: hidden}
It may look very funny!... It may even seem as Much Ado About Nothing..... Not to me!
It proved, beyond the shadow of doubt, an intuitive conclusion I had come to long ago! This combination is the only common denominator! I also strongly beleive that, this common denominator will remain valid when the Bowser set is expanded to include Safari.
What does this buy us in the Real World?... To tell you the truth: A lot!.......... To be Continued
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- Further Reading:
- You can review the list of Related Articles, with brief descriptions and links on the Auxiliary Panel,
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Web Design & Engineering: Dr. Z
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