Element.scrollWidth

The Element.scrollWidth read-only property is a measurement of the width of an element's content, including content not visible on the screen due to overflow.

The scrollWidth value is equal to the minimum width the element would require in order to fit all the content in the viewport without using a horizontal scrollbar. The width is measured in the same way as clientWidth: it includes the element's padding, but not its border, margin or vertical scrollbar (if present). It can also include the width of pseudo-elements such as ::before or ::after. If the element's content can fit without a need for horizontal scrollbar, its scrollWidth is equal to clientWidth

This property will round the value to an integer. If you need a fractional value, use element.getBoundingClientRect().

Syntax

var xScrollWidth = element.scrollWidth;

xScrollWidth is the width of the content of element in pixels.

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Example</title>
    <style>
        div {
            overflow: hidden;
            white-space: nowrap;
            text-overflow: ellipsis;
        }
        
        #aDiv {
            width: 100px;
        }
        
        button {
            margin-bottom: 2em;
        }
    </style>
</head>

<body>
    <div id="aDiv">
        FooBar-FooBar-FooBar-FooBar
    </div>
    <button id="aButton">
        Check for overflow
    </button>
    
    <div id="anotherDiv">
        FooBar-FooBar-FooBar-FooBar
    </div>
    <button id="anotherButton">
        Check for overflow
    </button>
</body>
<script>
    var buttonOne = document.getElementById('aButton'),
    buttonTwo = document.getElementById('anotherButton'),
    divOne = document.getElementById('aDiv'),
    divTwo = document.getElementById('anotherDiv');

    //check to determine if an overflow is happening
    function isOverflowing(element) {
        return (element.scrollWidth > element.offsetWidth);
    }

    function alertOverflow(element) {
        if (isOverflowing(element)) {
            alert('Contents are overflowing the container.');
        } else {
            alert('No overflows!');
        }
    }

    buttonOne.addEventListener('click', function() {
        alertOverflow(divOne);
    });

    buttonTwo.addEventListener('click', function() {
        alertOverflow(divTwo);
    });
</script>
</html>

Result

Specification

Specification Status Comment
CSS Object Model (CSSOM) View Module
The definition of 'Element.scrollWidth' in that specification.		 Working Draft Initial definition

Browser compatibility

DesktopMobile
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung Internet
scrollWidthChrome Full support 43Edge Full support 12Firefox Full support YesIE Full support 5
Notes
Full support 5
Notes
Notes In Internet Explorer 5 through 7, if padding is set, the value of scrollWidth is equal to the sum of the left and right padding. This behavior was fixed in Internet Explorer 8.
Opera Full support YesSafari Full support 6WebView Android Full support YesChrome Android Full support 43Firefox Android Full support YesOpera Android Full support YesSafari iOS Full support YesSamsung Internet Android Full support 4.0

Legend

Full support
Full support
See implementation notes.
See implementation notes.

See also