8 <a name="box-model"="">Box model</a>

The CSS box model describes the rectangular boxes that are generated for elements in the <a href="conform.html#doctree"="">document tree</a> and laid out according to the <a href="visuren.html"="">visual formatting model</a>.

8.1 <a name="box-dimensions"="">Box dimensions</a>

Each box has a <span class="index-def" title="box::content|content::of a box"=""> <a name="box-content-area"=""><dfn="">content area</dfn></a></span> (e.g., text, an image, etc.) and optional surrounding <span class="index-def" title="box::padding|padding::of a box"=""> <a name="box-padding-area"=""><dfn="">padding</dfn></a></span>, <span class="index-def" title="box::border|border::of a box"=""> <a name="box-border-area"=""><dfn="">border</dfn></a></span>, and <span class="index-def" title="box::margin|margin::of a box"=""> <a name="box-margin-area"=""><dfn="">margin</dfn></a></span> areas; the size of each area is specified by properties defined below. The following diagram shows how these areas relate and the terminology used to refer to pieces of margin, border, and padding:

The margin, border, and padding can be broken down into top, right, bottom, and left segments (e.g., in the diagram, "LM" for left margin, "RP" for right padding, "TB" for top border, etc.).

The perimeter of each of the four areas (content, padding, border, and margin) is called an "edge", so each box has four edges:

<span class="index-def" title="content edge"=""><a name="content-edge"=""><strong="">content edge</strong></a></span> or <span class="index-def" title="inner edge"=""><a name="inner-edge"=""><strong="">inner edge</strong></a></span>

The content edge surrounds the rectangle given by the <a href="visudet.html#Computing_widths_and_margins"="">width</a> and <a href="visudet.html#Computing_heights_and_margins"="">height</a> of the box, which often depend on the element's <a href="conform.html#rendered-content"="">rendered content</a>. The four content edges define the box's <dfn=""><a name="x10"=""><span class="index-def"="">content box</span></a></dfn>.

padding edge

The padding edge surrounds the box padding. If the padding has 0 width, the padding edge is the same as the content edge. The four padding edges define the box's <dfn=""><a name="x12"=""><span class="index-def"="">padding box</span></a></dfn>.

border edge

The border edge surrounds the box's border. If the border has 0 width, the border edge is the same as the padding edge. The four border edges define the box's <dfn=""><a name="x14"=""><span class="index-def"="">border box</span></a></dfn>.

<span class="index-def" title="margin edge"=""><a name="margin-edge"=""><strong="">margin edge</strong></a></span> or <span class="index-def" title="outer edge"=""><a name="outer-edge"=""><strong="">outer edge</strong></a></span>

The margin edge surrounds the box margin. If the margin has 0 width, the margin edge is the same as the border edge. The four margin edges define the box's <dfn=""><a name="x17"=""><span class="index-def"="">margin box</span></a></dfn>.

Each edge may be broken down into a top, right, bottom, and left edge.

The dimensions of the content area of a box &mdash; the <span class="index-def" title="box::content width"=""><a name="content-width"=""><dfn="">content width</dfn></a></span> and <span class="index-def" title="box::content height"=""><a name="content-height"=""><dfn="">content height</dfn></a></span> &mdash; depend on several factors: whether the element generating the box has the <a href="visudet.html#propdef-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-width"="">'width'</span></a> or <a href="visudet.html#propdef-height" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-height"="">'height'</span></a> property set, whether the box contains text or other boxes, whether the box is a table, etc. Box widths and heights are discussed in the chapter on <a href="visudet.html"="">visual formatting model details</a>.

The background style of the content, padding, and border areas of a box is specified by the <a href="colors.html#propdef-background" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-background"="">'background'</span></a> property of the generating element. Margin backgrounds are always transparent.

8.2 <a name="mpb-examples"="">Example of margins, padding, and borders</a>

This example illustrates how margins, padding, and borders interact. The example HTML document:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN">
<HTML>
  <HEAD>
    <TITLE>Examples of margins, padding, and borders</TITLE>
    <STYLE type="text/css">
      UL { 
        background: yellow; 
        margin: 12px 12px 12px 12px;
        padding: 3px 3px 3px 3px;
                                     /* No borders set */
      }
      LI { 
        color: white;                /* text color is white */ 
        background: blue;            /* Content, padding will be blue */
        margin: 12px 12px 12px 12px;
        padding: 12px 0px 12px 12px; /* Note 0px padding right */
        list-style: none             /* no glyphs before a list item */
                                     /* No borders set */
      }
      LI.withborder {
        border-style: dashed;
        border-width: medium;        /* sets border width on all sides */
        border-color: lime;
      }
    </STYLE>
  </HEAD>
  <BODY>
    <UL>
      <LI>First element of list
      <LI class="withborder">Second element of list is
           a bit longer to illustrate wrapping.
    </UL>
  </BODY>
</HTML>

results in a <a href="conform.html#doctree"="">document tree</a> with (among other relationships) a UL element that has two LI children.

The first of the following diagrams illustrates what this example would produce. The second illustrates the relationship between the margins, padding, and borders of the UL elements and those of its children LI elements. (Image is not to scale.)

Note that:

• The <a href="#content-width"="">content width</a> for each LI box is calculated top-down; the <a href="visuren.html#containing-block"="">containing block</a> for each LI box is established by the UL element.
• The margin box height of each LI box depends on its <a href="#content-height"="">content height</a>, plus top and bottom padding, borders, and margins. Note that vertical margins between the LI boxes <a href="#collapsing-margins"="">collapse.</a>
• The right padding of the LI boxes has been set to zero width (the <a href="box.html#propdef-padding" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding"="">'padding'</span></a> property). The effect is apparent in the second illustration.
• The margins of the LI boxes are transparent &mdash; margins are always transparent &mdash; so the background color (yellow) of the UL padding and content areas shines through them.
• The second LI element specifies a dashed border (the <a href="box.html#propdef-border-style" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-style"="">'border-style'</span></a> property).

8.3 <a name="margin-properties"="">Margin properties</a>: <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-top" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-top"="">'margin-top'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-right" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-right"="">'margin-right'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-bottom" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-bottom"="">'margin-bottom'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-left" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-left"="">'margin-left'</span></a>, and <a href="box.html#propdef-margin" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin"="">'margin'</span></a>

Margin properties specify the width of the <a href="#box-margin-area"="">margin area</a> of a box. The <a href="box.html#propdef-margin" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin"="">'margin'</span></a> shorthand property sets the margin for all four sides while the other margin properties only set their respective side. These properties apply to all elements, but vertical margins will not have any effect on non-replaced inline elements.

The properties defined in this section refer to the <span class="index-def" title="&lt;margin-width&gt;::definition of"=""><a name="value-def-margin-width"=""><strong="">&lt;margin-width&gt;</strong></a></span> value type, which may take one of the following values:

&lt;length&gt;

Specifies a fixed width.

&lt;percentage&gt;

The percentage is calculated with respect to the <em="">width</em> of the generated box's <a href="visuren.html#containing-block"="">containing block</a>. <span class="note"="">Note that this is true for <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-top" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-top"="">'margin-top'</span></a> and <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-bottom" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-bottom"="">'margin-bottom'</span></a> as well.</span> If the containing block's width depends on this element, then the resulting layout is undefined in CSS&nbsp;2.1.

auto

See the section on <a href="visudet.html#Computing_widths_and_margins"="">calculating widths and margins</a> for behavior.

Negative values for margin properties are allowed, but there may be implementation-specific limits.

These properties have no effect on non-replaced inline elements.

These properties set the top, right, bottom, and left margin of a box.

h1 { margin-top: 2em }

The <a href="box.html#propdef-margin" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin"="">'margin'</span></a> property is a shorthand property for setting <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-top" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-top"="">'margin-top'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-right" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-right"="">'margin-right'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-bottom" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-bottom"="">'margin-bottom'</span></a>, and <a href="box.html#propdef-margin-left" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin-left"="">'margin-left'</span></a> at the same place in the style sheet.

If there is only one component value, it applies to all sides. If there are two values, the top and bottom margins are set to the first value and the right and left margins are set to the second. If there are three values, the top is set to the first value, the left and right are set to the second, and the bottom is set to the third. If there are four values, they apply to the top, right, bottom, and left, respectively.

body { margin: 2em }         /* all margins set to 2em */
body { margin: 1em 2em }     /* top & bottom = 1em, right & left = 2em */
body { margin: 1em 2em 3em } /* top=1em, right=2em, bottom=3em, left=2em */

body {
  margin-top: 1em;
  margin-right: 2em;
  margin-bottom: 3em;
  margin-left: 2em;        /* copied from opposite side (right) */
}

8.3.1 <a name="collapsing-margins"="">Collapsing margins</a>

In CSS, the adjoining margins of two or more boxes (which might or might not be siblings) can combine to form a single margin. Margins that combine this way are said to <dfn=""><a name="x26"=""><span class="index-def"="">collapse</span></a></dfn>, and the resulting combined margin is called a <dfn=""><a name="x27"=""><span class="index-def" title="collapsing margin"="">collapsed margin</span></a></dfn>.

Adjoining vertical margins collapse, except:

• Margins of the root element's box do not collapse.
• If the top and bottom margins of an element with <a href="visuren.html#clearance"="">clearance</a> are adjoining, its margins collapse with the adjoining margins of following siblings but that resulting margin does not collapse with the bottom margin of the parent block.

Horizontal margins never collapse.

Two margins are <a name="x28"=""><span class="index-def" title="adjoining margins"=""><dfn="">adjoining</dfn></span></a> if and only if:

• both belong to in-flow <a href="visuren.html#block-boxes"="">block-level boxes</a> that participate in the same <a href="visuren.html#block-formatting"="">block formatting context</a>
• no line boxes, no clearance, no padding and no border separate them <span class="note"="">(Note that <a href="visuren.html#phantom-line-box"="">certain zero-height line boxes</a> (see <a href="visuren.html#inline-formatting"="">9.4.2</a>) are ignored for this purpose.)</span>
• both belong to vertically-adjacent box edges, i.e. form one of the following pairs:
  • top margin of a box and top margin of its first in-flow child
  • bottom margin of box and top margin of its next in-flow following sibling
  • bottom margin of a last in-flow child and bottom margin of its parent if the parent has 'auto' computed height
  • top and bottom margins of a box that does not establish a new block formatting context and that has zero computed <a href="visudet.html#propdef-min-height" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-min-height"="">'min-height'</span></a>, zero or 'auto' computed <a href="visudet.html#propdef-height" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-height"="">'height'</span></a>, and no in-flow children

A collapsed margin is considered adjoining to another margin if any of its component margins is adjoining to that margin.

<strong="">Note.</strong> Adjoining margins can be generated by elements that are not related as siblings or ancestors.

When two or more margins collapse, the resulting margin width is the maximum of the collapsing margins' widths. In the case of negative margins, the maximum of the absolute values of the negative adjoining margins is deducted from the maximum of the positive adjoining margins. If there are no positive margins, the maximum of the absolute values of the adjoining margins is deducted from zero.

If the top and bottom margins of a box are adjoining, then it is possible for margins to <dfn=""><a name="x29"=""><span class="index-def"="">collapse through</span></a></dfn> it. In this case, the position of the element depends on its relationship with the other elements whose margins are being collapsed.

• If the element's margins are collapsed with its parent's top margin, the top border edge of the box is defined to be the same as the parent's.
• Otherwise, either the element's parent is not taking part in the margin collapsing, or only the parent's bottom margin is involved. The position of the element's top border edge is the same as it would have been if the element had a non-zero bottom border.

Note that the positions of elements that have been collapsed through have no effect on the positions of the other elements with whose margins they are being collapsed; the top border edge position is only required for laying out descendants of these elements.

8.4 <a name="padding-properties"="">Padding properties</a>: <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-top" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-top"="">'padding-top'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-right" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-right"="">'padding-right'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-bottom" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-bottom"="">'padding-bottom'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-left" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-left"="">'padding-left'</span></a>, and <a href="box.html#propdef-padding" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding"="">'padding'</span></a>

The padding properties specify the width of the <a href="#box-padding-area"="">padding area</a> of a box. The <a href="box.html#propdef-padding" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding"="">'padding'</span></a> shorthand property sets the padding for all four sides while the other padding properties only set their respective side.

The properties defined in this section refer to the <span class="index-def" title="&lt;padding-width&gt;::definition of"=""><a name="value-def-padding-width"=""><strong="">&lt;padding-width&gt;</strong> </a></span> value type, which may take one of the following values:

&lt;length&gt;

Specifies a fixed width.

&lt;percentage&gt;

The percentage is calculated with respect to the <em="">width</em> of the generated box's <a href="visuren.html#containing-block"="">containing block</a>, even for <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-top" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-top"="">'padding-top'</span></a> and <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-bottom" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-bottom"="">'padding-bottom'</span></a>. If the containing block's width depends on this element, then the resulting layout is undefined in CSS&nbsp;2.1.

Unlike margin properties, values for padding values cannot be negative. Like margin properties, percentage values for padding properties refer to the width of the generated box's containing block.

These properties set the top, right, bottom, and left padding of a box.

blockquote { padding-top: 0.3em }

The <a href="box.html#propdef-padding" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding"="">'padding'</span></a> property is a shorthand property for setting <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-top" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-top"="">'padding-top'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-right" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-right"="">'padding-right'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-bottom" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-bottom"="">'padding-bottom'</span></a>, and <a href="box.html#propdef-padding-left" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding-left"="">'padding-left'</span></a> at the same place in the style sheet.

If there is only one component value, it applies to all sides. If there are two values, the top and bottom paddings are set to the first value and the right and left paddings are set to the second. If there are three values, the top is set to the first value, the left and right are set to the second, and the bottom is set to the third. If there are four values, they apply to the top, right, bottom, and left, respectively.

The surface color or image of the padding area is specified via the <a href="colors.html#propdef-background" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-background"="">'background'</span></a> property:

h1 { 
  background: white; 
  padding: 1em 2em;
} 

8.5 <a name="border-properties"="">Border properties</a>

The border properties specify the width, color, and style of the <a href="#box-border-area"="">border area</a> of a box. These properties apply to all elements.

8.5.1 <a name="border-width-properties"="">Border width</a>: <a href="box.html#propdef-border-top-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-top-width"="">'border-top-width'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-right-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-right-width"="">'border-right-width'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-bottom-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-bottom-width"="">'border-bottom-width'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-left-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-left-width"="">'border-left-width'</span></a>, and <a href="box.html#propdef-border-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-width"="">'border-width'</span></a>

The border width properties specify the width of the <a href="#box-border-area"="">border area</a>. The properties defined in this section refer to the <span class="index-def" title="&lt;border-width&gt;::definition of"=""><a name="value-def-border-width" class="value-def"=""><strong="">&lt;border-width&gt;</strong></a></span> value type, which may take one of the following values:

thin

A thin border.

medium

A medium border.

thick

A thick border.

&lt;length&gt;

The border's thickness has an explicit value. Explicit border widths cannot be negative.

The interpretation of the first three values depends on the user agent. The following relationships must hold, however:

'thin' &lt;='medium' &lt;= 'thick'.

Furthermore, these widths must be constant throughout a document.

These properties set the width of the top, right, bottom, and left border of a box.

This property is a shorthand property for setting <a href="box.html#propdef-border-top-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-top-width"="">'border-top-width'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-right-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-right-width"="">'border-right-width'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-bottom-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-bottom-width"="">'border-bottom-width'</span></a>, and <a href="box.html#propdef-border-left-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-left-width"="">'border-left-width'</span></a> at the same place in the style sheet.

If there is only one component value, it applies to all sides. If there are two values, the top and bottom borders are set to the first value and the right and left are set to the second. If there are three values, the top is set to the first value, the left and right are set to the second, and the bottom is set to the third. If there are four values, they apply to the top, right, bottom, and left, respectively.

h1 { border-width: thin }                   /* thin thin thin thin */
h1 { border-width: thin thick }             /* thin thick thin thick */
h1 { border-width: thin thick medium }      /* thin thick medium thick */

8.5.2 <a name="border-color-properties"="">Border color</a>: <a href="box.html#propdef-border-top-color" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-top-color"="">'border-top-color'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-right-color" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-right-color"="">'border-right-color'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-bottom-color" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-bottom-color"="">'border-bottom-color'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-left-color" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-left-color"="">'border-left-color'</span></a>, and <a href="box.html#propdef-border-color" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-color"="">'border-color'</span></a>

The border color properties specify the color of a box's border.

The <a href="box.html#propdef-border-color" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-color"="">'border-color'</span></a> property sets the color of the four borders. Values have the following meanings:

&lt;color&gt;

Specifies a color value.

transparent

The border is transparent (though it may have width).

The <a href="box.html#propdef-border-color" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-color"="">'border-color'</span></a> property can have from one to four component values, and the values are set on the different sides as for <a href="box.html#propdef-border-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-width"="">'border-width'</span></a>.

If an element's border color is not specified with a border property, user agents must use the value of the element's <a href="colors.html#propdef-color" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-color"="">'color'</span></a> property as the <a href="cascade.html#computed-value"="">computed value</a> for the border color.

p { 
  color: black; 
  background: white; 
  border: solid;
}

8.5.3 <a name="border-style-properties"="">Border style</a>: <a href="box.html#propdef-border-top-style" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-top-style"="">'border-top-style'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-right-style" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-right-style"="">'border-right-style'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-bottom-style" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-bottom-style"="">'border-bottom-style'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-left-style" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-left-style"="">'border-left-style'</span></a>, and <a href="box.html#propdef-border-style" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-style"="">'border-style'</span></a>

The border style properties specify the line style of a box's border (solid, double, dashed, etc.). The properties defined in this section refer to the <span class="index-def" title="&lt;border-style&gt;, definition of"=""><a name="value-def-border-style"=""><strong="">&lt;border-style&gt;</strong></a></span> value type, which may take one of the following values:

none

No border; the computed border width is zero.

hidden

Same as 'none', except in terms of <a href="tables.html#border-conflict-resolution"="">border conflict resolution</a> for <a href="tables.html"="">table elements</a>.

dotted

The border is a series of dots.

dashed

The border is a series of short line segments.

solid

The border is a single line segment.

double

The border is two solid lines. The sum of the two lines and the space between them equals the value of <a href="box.html#propdef-border-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-width"="">'border-width'</span></a>.

groove

The border looks as though it were carved into the canvas.

ridge

The opposite of 'groove': the border looks as though it were coming out of the canvas.

inset

The border makes the box look as though it were embedded in the canvas.

outset

The opposite of 'inset': the border makes the box look as though it were coming out of the canvas.

All borders are drawn on top of the box's background. The color of borders drawn for values of 'groove', 'ridge', 'inset', and 'outset' depends on the element's <a href="#border-color-properties"="">border color properties</a>, but UAs may choose their own algorithm to calculate the actual colors used. For instance, if the 'border-color' has the value 'silver', then a UA could use a gradient of colors from white to dark gray to indicate a sloping border.

The <a href="box.html#propdef-border-style" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-style"="">'border-style'</span></a> property sets the style of the four borders. It can have from one to four component values, and the values are set on the different sides as for <a href="box.html#propdef-border-width" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-width"="">'border-width'</span></a> above.

#xy34 { border-style: solid dotted }

Since the initial value of the border styles is 'none', no borders will be visible unless the border style is set.

8.5.4 <a name="border-shorthand-properties"="">Border shorthand properties</a>: <a href="box.html#propdef-border-top" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-top"="">'border-top'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-right" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-right"="">'border-right'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-bottom" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-bottom"="">'border-bottom'</span></a>, <a href="box.html#propdef-border-left" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border-left"="">'border-left'</span></a>, and <a href="box.html#propdef-border" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border"="">'border'</span></a>

This is a shorthand property for setting the width, style, and color of the top, right, bottom, and left border of a box.

h1 { border-bottom: thick solid red }

H1 { border-bottom: thick solid }

The <a href="box.html#propdef-border" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border"="">'border'</span></a> property is a shorthand property for setting the same width, color, and style for all four borders of a box. Unlike the shorthand <a href="box.html#propdef-margin" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-margin"="">'margin'</span></a> and <a href="box.html#propdef-padding" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-padding"="">'padding'</span></a> properties, the <a href="box.html#propdef-border" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-border"="">'border'</span></a> property cannot set different values on the four borders. To do so, one or more of the other border properties must be used.

p { border: solid red }
p {
  border-top: solid red;
  border-right: solid red;
  border-bottom: solid red;
  border-left: solid red
}

Since, to some extent, the properties have overlapping functionality, the order in which the rules are specified is important.

blockquote {
  border: solid red;
  border-left: double;
  color: black;
}

8.6 <a name="bidi-box-model"="">The box model for inline elements in bidirectional context</a>

For each line box, UAs must take the inline boxes generated for each element and render the margins, borders and padding in visual order (not logical order).

When the element's <a href="visuren.html#propdef-direction" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-direction"="">'direction'</span></a> property is 'ltr', the left-most generated box of the first line box in which the element appears has the left margin, left border and left padding, and the right-most generated box of the last line box in which the element appears has the right padding, right border and right margin.

When the element's <a href="visuren.html#propdef-direction" class="noxref"=""><span class="propinst-direction"="">'direction'</span></a> property is 'rtl', the right-most generated box of the first line box in which the element appears has the right padding, right border and right margin, and the left-most generated box of the last line box in which the element appears has the left margin, left border and left padding.