Web/CSS/transform-function/scale()

The scale() CSS function defines a transformation that resizes an element on the 2D plane. Because the amount of scaling is defined by a vector, it can resize the horizontal and vertical dimensions at different scales. Its result is a <transform-function> data type.

[[File:../../../../../../media.prod.mdn.mozit.cloud/attachments/2015/12/14/12115/33cbec36ca163089a36cd023f20384d1/scale.png]]

This scaling transformation is characterized by a two-dimensional vector. Its coordinates define how much scaling is done in each direction. If both coordinates are equal, the scaling is uniform (isotropic) and the aspect ratio of the element is preserved (this is a homothetic transformation).

When a coordinate value is outside the [-1, 1] range, the element grows along that dimension; when inside, it shrinks. If it is negative, the result a point reflection in that dimension. A value of 1 has no effect.

Note: The scale() function only scales in 2D. To scale in 3D, use scale3d() instead.

Syntax

The scale() function is specified with either one or two values, which represent the amount of scaling to be applied in each direction.

scale(sx)

scale(sx, sy)

Values

sx

A <number> representing the abscissa of the scaling vector.

sy

A <number> representing the ordinate of the scaling vector. If not defined, its default value is sx, resulting in a uniform scaling that preserves the element's aspect ratio.

Cartesian coordinates on ℝ2	Homogeneous coordinates on ℝℙ2	Cartesian coordinates on ℝ3	Homogeneous coordinates on ℝℙ3
<math display="inline">\begin{pmatrix} & \\ & \\ \end{pmatrix}</math>	<math display="inline">\begin{pmatrix} & & \\ & & \\ & & \\ \end{pmatrix}</math>	<math display="inline">\begin{pmatrix} & & \\ & & \\ & & \\ \end{pmatrix}</math>	<math display="inline">\begin{pmatrix} & & & \\ & & & \\ & & & \\ & & & \\ \end{pmatrix}</math>
	[sx 0 0 sy 0 0]

Accessibility concerns

Scaling/zooming animations are problematic for accessibility, as they are a common trigger for certain types of migraine. If you need to include such animations on your website, you should provide a control to allow users to turn off animations, preferrably site-wide.

Also, consider making use of the prefers-reduced-motion media feature — use it to write a media query that will turn off animations if the user has reduced animation specified in their system preferences.

Find out more:

• MDN Understanding WCAG, Guideline 2.3 explanations
• Understanding Success Criterion 2.3.3 | W3C Understanding WCAG 2.1

Examples

Scaling the X and Y dimensions together

HTML

<div>Normal</div>
<div class="scaled">Scaled</div>

CSS

div {
  width: 80px;
  height: 80px;
  background-color: skyblue;
}

.scaled {
  transform: scale(0.7); /* Equal to scaleX(0.7) scaleY(0.7) */
  background-color: pink;
}

Scaling X and Y dimensions separately, and translating the origin

HTML

<div>Normal</div>
<div class="scaled">Scaled</div>

CSS

div {
  width: 80px;
  height: 80px;
  background-color: skyblue;
}

.scaled {
  transform: scale(2, 0.5); /* Equal to scaleX(2) scaleY(0.5) */
  transform-origin: left;
  background-color: pink;
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Transforms Level 1The definition of 'scale()' in that specification.	Working Draft	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

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
<transform-function>	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 3.5 Notes' Full support 3.5 Notes' Notes' Firefox 14 removed experimental support for skew(), but it was reintroduced in Firefox 15. Notes' Before Firefox 16, the translation values of matrix() and matrix3d() could be <length>s, in addition to the standard <number>.	IE Full support 9 Notes' Full support 9 Notes' Notes' Internet Explorer 9 supports 2D but not 3D transforms. In version 9, mixing 2D and 3D transform functions invalidates the entire property.	Opera Full support 10.5	Safari Full support 3.1	WebView Android Full support 2	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 11	Safari iOS Full support 3.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
3D support	Chrome Full support 12	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 10	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 15	Safari Full support 4	WebView Android Full support 3	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 10	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 3.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support  

Full support

See implementation notes.'

See implementation notes.

See also

• transform
• <transform-function>
• scale3d()

scale() by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.