Web/CSS/transform-style

The transform-style CSS property sets whether children of an element are positioned in the 3D space or are flattened in the plane of the element.

The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.

If flattened, the element's children will not exist on their own in the 3D-space.

As this property is not inherited, it must be set for all non-leaf descendants of the element.

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
transform-style: flat;
transform-style: preserve-3d;

/* Global values */
transform-style: inherit;
transform-style: initial;
transform-style: unset;

Values

flat: Indicates that the children of the element are lying in the plane of the element itself.
preserve-3d: Indicates that the children of the element should be positioned in the 3D-space.

Formal definition

Initial value	`flat`
Applies to	transformable elements
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete
Creates stacking context	yes

Formal syntax

flat | preserve-3d

Examples

Transform style demonstration

In this example we have a 3D cube created using transforms. The parent container of the cube faces has transform-style: preserve-3d set on it by default, so it is transformed in the 3D space and you can see it as intended.

We also provide a checkbox allowing you to toggle between this, and transform-style: flat. In this alternative state, the cube faces are all flattened onto the plane of their parent, and you might not be able to see them at all, depending on the browser you are using.

HTML

<section id="example-element">
  <div class="face front">1</div>
  <div class="face back">2</div>
  <div class="face right">3</div>
  <div class="face left">4</div>
  <div class="face top">5</div>
  <div class="face bottom">6</div>
</section>

<div class="checkbox">
  <label for="preserve"><code>preserve-3d</code></label>
  <input type="checkbox" id="preserve" checked>
</div>

CSS

#example-element {
  margin: 50px;
  width: 100px;
  height: 100px;
  transform-style: preserve-3d;
  transform: rotate3d(1, 1, 1, 30deg);
}

.face {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  position: absolute;
  backface-visibility: inherit;
  font-size: 60px;
  color: #fff;
}

.front {
    background: rgba(90,90,90,.7);
    transform: translateZ(50px);
}

.back {
    background: rgba(0,210,0,.7);
    transform: rotateY(180deg) translateZ(50px);
}

.right {
  background: rgba(210,0,0,.7);
  transform: rotateY(90deg) translateZ(50px);
}

.left {
  background: rgba(0,0,210,.7);
  transform: rotateY(-90deg) translateZ(50px);
}

.top {
  background: rgba(210,210,0,.7);
  transform: rotateX(90deg) translateZ(50px);
}

.bottom {
  background: rgba(210,0,210,.7);
  transform: rotateX(-90deg) translateZ(50px);
}

JavaScript

const cube = document.getElementById('example-element');
const checkbox = document.getElementById('preserve');

checkbox.addEventListener('change', () => {
  if(checkbox.checked) {
    cube.style.transformStyle = 'preserve-3d';
  } else {
    cube.style.transformStyle = 'flat';
  }
})

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Transforms Level 2The definition of 'transform-style' 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
`transform-style`	Chrome Full support 36 Full support 36 Full support 12 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Edge Full support 12 Full support 12 Full support 12 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Full support 16 Full support 16 Full support 10 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -moz- Full support 49 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Full support 44 Prefixed' Disabled' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled' From version 44: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 23 Full support 23 Full support 15 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Safari Full support 9 Full support 9 Full support 4 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	WebView Android Full support 37 Full support 37 Full support 3 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Chrome Android Full support 36 Full support 36 Full support 18 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Android Full support 16 Full support 16 Full support 10 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -moz- Full support 49 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Full support 44 Prefixed' Disabled' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled' From version 44: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android Full support 24 Full support 24 Full support 14 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Safari iOS Full support 9 Full support 9 Full support 2 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Samsung Internet Android Full support 3.0 Full support 3.0 Full support 1.0 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.': Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.