Web/CSS/padding-block-start

The padding-block-start CSS property defines the logical block start padding of an element, which maps to a physical padding depending on the element's writing mode, directionality, and text orientation.

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Syntax

/* <length> values */
padding-block-start: 10px;      /* An absolute length */
padding-block-start: 1em;       /* A length relative to the text size */

/* <percentage> value */
padding-block-start: 5%;        /* A padding relative to the block container's width */

/* Global values */
padding-block-start: inherit;
padding-block-start: initial;
padding-block-start: unset;

Values

The padding-block-start property takes the same values as the padding-left property.

Description

This property corresponds to the padding-top, padding-right, padding-bottom, or padding-left property depending on the values defined for writing-mode, direction, and text-orientation.

It relates to padding-block-end, padding-inline-start, and padding-inline-end, which define the other paddings of the element.

Formal definition

Initial value	`0`
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	no
Percentages	logical-width of containing block
Computed value	as `<length>`
Animation type	a length

Formal syntax

<'padding-left'>

Examples

Setting block start padding for vertical text

HTML

<div>
  <p class="exampleText">Example text</p>
</div>

CSS

div {
  background-color: yellow;
  width: 120px;
  height: 120px;
}

.exampleText {
  writing-mode: vertical-lr;
  padding-block-start: 20px;
  background-color: #C8C800;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Logical Properties and Values Level 1The definition of 'padding-block-start' in that specification.	Editor's Draft	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`padding-block-start`	Chrome Full support 69	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 41 Full support 41 No support 38 — 51 Disabled' Disabled' From version 38 until version 51 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.vertical-text.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 56	Safari Full support 12.1	WebView Android Full support 69	Chrome Android Full support 69	Firefox Android Full support 41 Full support 41 No support 38 — 51 Disabled' Disabled' From version 38 until version 51 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.vertical-text.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android Full support 48	Safari iOS Full support 12.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 10.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.