Applying an ellipsis to multiline text

Question

Is there a solution to add ellipsis on last line inside a div with a fluid height (20%)?

I found the -webkit-line-clamp function in CSS, but in my case the line number will be depending on window size.

p {
    width:100%;
    height:20%;
    background:red;
    position:absolute;
}

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I have this JSFiddle to illustrate the issue. https://jsfiddle.net/96knodm6/

Answer 1

If you want to apply ellipsis (...) to a single line of text, CSS makes that somewhat easy with the text-overflow property. It's still a bit tricky (due to all the requirements – see below), but text-overflow makes it possible and reliable.

If, however, you want to use ellipsis on multiline text – as would be the case here – then don't expect to have any fun. CSS has no standard method for doing this, and the workarounds are hit and miss.

Ellipsis for Single Line Text

With text-overflow, ellipsis can be applied to a single line of text. The following CSS requirements must be met:

• must have a width, max-width or flex-basis
• must have white-space: nowrap
• must have overflow with value other than visible
• must be display: block or inline-block (or the functional equivalent, such as a flex item).

So this will work:

p {
  width: 200px;
  white-space: nowrap;
  overflow: hidden;
  display: inline-block;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  margin: 0;
}

<p>
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>. 
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>. 
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>. 
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>.
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>.
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>.
</p>

jsFiddle version

BUT, try removing the width, or letting the overflow default to visible, or removing white-space: nowrap, or using something other than a block container element, AND, ellipsis fails miserably.

One big takeaway here: text-overflow: ellipsis has no effect on multiline text. (The white-space: nowrap requirement alone eliminates that possibility.)

p {
    width: 200px;
    /* white-space: nowrap; */
    height: 90px; /* new */
    overflow: hidden;
    display: inline-block;
    text-overflow: ellipsis;
    border: 1px solid #ddd;
    margin: 0;
}

<p>
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>. 
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>. 
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>. 
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>.
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>.
  This is a test of CSS <i>text-overflow: ellipsis</i>.
</p>

jsFiddle version

---

Ellipsis for Multiline Text

Because CSS has no property for ellipsis on multiline text, various workarounds have been created. Several of these methods can be found here:

• jQuery dotdotdot...
• Line Clampin’ (Truncating Multiple Line Text)
• CSS Ellipsis: How to Manage Multi-Line Ellipsis in Pure CSS
• A pure CSS solution for multiline text truncation

The Mobify link above was removed and now references an archive.org copy, but appears to be implemented in this codepen.