transform-style CSS property
Baseline
Widely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since September 2015.
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.
Try it
transform-style: flat;
transform-style: preserve-3d;
<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
<div class="transition-all layer" id="example-element">
<p>Parent</p>
<div class="numeral"><code>rotate3d(1, 1, 1, 45deg)</code></div>
</div>
</section>
.layer {
background: #623e3f;
border-radius: 0.75rem;
color: white;
transform: perspective(200px) rotateY(30deg);
}
.numeral {
background-color: #ffba08;
border-radius: 0.2rem;
color: black;
margin: 1rem;
padding: 0.2rem;
transform: rotate3d(1, 1, 1, 45deg);
}
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
css
/* Keyword values */
transform-style: flat;
transform-style: preserve-3d;
/* Global values */
transform-style: inherit;
transform-style: initial;
transform-style: revert;
transform-style: revert-layer;
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.
Description
The spec lists some grouping property values, which
require the user agent to create a flattened representation of the descendant elements before they can be applied, and therefore force the element to have a used value of transform-style: flat, even when preserve-3d is specified. These property values include:
overflow: any value other thanvisibleorclip.opacity: any value less than1.filter: any value other thannone.clip: any value other thanauto.clip-path: any value other thannone.isolation: used value ofisolate.mask-image: any value other thannone.mask-border-source: any value other thannone.mix-blend-mode: any value other thannormal.contain:paintand any other property/value combination that causes paint containment. This includes any property that affect the used value of thecontainproperty, such ascontent-visibility: hidden.
Formal definition
| Initial value | flat |
|---|---|
| Applies to | transformable elements |
| Inherited | no |
| Computed value | as specified |
| Animation type | discrete |
| Creates stacking context | yes |
Formal syntax
transform-style =
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
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
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: white;
}
.front {
background: rgb(90 90 90 / 70%);
transform: translateZ(50px);
}
.back {
background: rgb(0 210 0 / 70%);
transform: rotateY(180deg) translateZ(50px);
}
.right {
background: rgb(210 0 0 / 70%);
transform: rotateY(90deg) translateZ(50px);
}
.left {
background: rgb(0 0 210 / 70%);
transform: rotateY(-90deg) translateZ(50px);
}
.top {
background: rgb(210 210 0 / 70%);
transform: rotateX(90deg) translateZ(50px);
}
.bottom {
background: rgb(210 0 210 / 70%);
transform: rotateX(-90deg) translateZ(50px);
}
JavaScript
js
const cube = document.getElementById("example-element");
const checkbox = document.getElementById("preserve");
checkbox.addEventListener("change", () => {
cube.style.transformStyle = checkbox.checked ? "preserve-3d" : "flat";
});
Result
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| CSS Transforms Module Level 2 # transform-style-property |
Browser compatibility
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transform-style
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preserve-3d
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Legend
Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.
- Full support
- Full support
- See implementation notes.
- Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.
- Has more compatibility info.