Web/CSS/page-break-before

This property has been replaced by the break-before property.

The page-break-before CSS property adjusts page breaks before the current element.

This property applies to block elements that generate a box. It won't apply on an empty <div> that won't generate a box.

/* Keyword values */
page-break-before: auto;
page-break-before: always;
page-break-before: avoid;
page-break-before: left;
page-break-before: right;
page-break-before: recto;
page-break-before: verso;

/* Global values */
page-break-before: inherit;
page-break-before: initial;
page-break-before: unset;

Syntax

Values

auto: Initial value. Automatic page breaks (neither forced nor forbidden).
always: Always force page breaks before the element.
avoid: Avoid page breaks before the element.
left: Force page breaks before the element so that the next page is formatted as a left page.
right: Force page breaks before the element so that the next page is formatted as a right page.
recto ': If pages progress left-to-right, then this acts like right. If pages progress right-to-left, then this acts like left.
verso ': If pages progress left-to-right, then this acts like left. If pages progress right-to-left, then this acts like right.

Page break aliases

The page-break-before property is now a legacy property, replaced by break-before.

For compatibility reasons, page-break-before should be treated by browsers as an alias of break-before. This ensures that sites using page-break-before continue to work as designed. A subset of values should be aliased as follows:

page-break-before	break-before
`auto`	`auto`
`left`	`left`
`right`	`right`
`avoid`	`avoid`
`always`	`page`

Formal definition

Initial value	`auto`
Applies to	block-level elements in the normal flow of the root element. User agents may also apply it to other elements like `table-row` elements.
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

auto | always | avoid | left | right | recto | verso

Examples

Avoid a page break before an element

/* avoid page break before div elements of class note */
div.note { 
    page-break-before: avoid;
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Logical Properties and Values Level 1The definition of 'recto and verso' in that specification.	Editor's Draft	Adds the values `recto` and `verso`.
CSS Paged Media Module Level 3The definition of 'page-break-before' in that specification.	Working Draft	Extends the element that this property applies to table rows and table row groups.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1)The definition of 'page-break-before' in that specification.	Recommendation	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
`page-break-before`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1 Notes' Full support 1 Notes' Notes' The values `avoid`, `left`, and `right` are unsupported.	IE Full support 4	Opera Full support 7	Safari Full support 1.2	WebView Android Full support 37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4 Notes' Full support 4 Notes' Notes' The values `avoid`, `left`, and `right` are unsupported.	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.