CSS column-count
The CSS column-count property allows you to specify the number of columns in your multi-column layout. You can specify your column count to be automatic (i.e. auto) or a specific number (e.g., the number 3 for a 3 column layout).
You can also use the columns property to set the width and column count at once.
The examples on this page include browser-specific properties that start with extensions such as -webkit-, -moz-, etc. This is for browser compatibility reasons. See the bottom of this article for more on this.
| Syntax: |
column-count: <integer> | auto
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|---|---|
| Example |
Note that this example includes various CSS extensions in addition to the W3C CSS3 property. This is for browser compatibility.
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| Try it yourself! |
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| Possible Values: |
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| Initial Value: | See individual properties |
| Applies to: | non-replaced block-level elements (except table elements), table cells, and inline-block elements |
| Inherited: | No |
| Media: | Visual |
Browser Compatibility
At the time of writing, CSS3 was still under development and browser support for many CSS3 properties was limited or non-existent. For maximum browser compatibility many web developers add browser-specific properties by using extensions such as -webkit- for Safari and Google Chrome, -ms- for Internet Explorer, -moz- for Firefox, -o- for Opera etc. As with any CSS property, if a browser doesn't support a proprietary extension, it will simply ignore it.
This practice is not recommended by the W3C, however in many cases, the only way you can test a property is to include the CSS extension that is compatible with your browser.
Be aware that if you choose to use the proprietary CSS extensions in a live environment, your code will not pass any W3C CSS validation, as the browser-specific properties are not valid W3C properties.
Many of the CSS3 examples on this website include these browser specific properties. If they weren't included, most of the examples wouldn't work for most users (at least, not until possibly years after the article was written).
The major browser manufacturers are working to support the W3C properties, and eventually, you will be able to omit these browser-specific properties.