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In HTML/CSS, how can I show only a section of an image?

Problem

Let’s say I want to use HTML to display only the middle 50x50px of a 250x250px image. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it. Is there a method to do this with css:url() references, as well?

I’m aware of the clip property in CSS, however it only appears to function with absolute placement.

Asked by Hafthor

Solution #1

There is the clip css property, as noted in the question, albeit it does require that the element being clipped is position: absolute; (which is a shame):

Experiment with the JS Fiddle demo.

I’m amending to show the use of clip-path, which has replaced the now-deprecated clip property, to augment the original answer — somewhat belatedly.

The clip-path attribute (more so than the original clip) provides a variety of options, including:

Experiment with the JS Fiddle demo.

References:

Answered by David Thomas

Solution #2

Setting the picture you want to use as a background in a container (td, div, span, etc.) and then adjusting background-position to get the sprite you want is one way to achieve it.

Answered by Espo

Solution #3

Another option is the following, which isn’t the cleanest because it implies that the picture is the sole element in a container, like in this case:

<header class="siteHeader">
  <img src="img" class="siteLogo" />
</header>

The container can then be used as a mask with the necessary size, and the picture can be moved into the correct location by surrounding it with a negative margin:

.siteHeader{
    width: 50px;
    height: 50px;
    overflow: hidden;
}

.siteHeader .siteLogo{
    margin: -100px;
}

This JSFiddle has a demonstration.

Only IE>9 and possibly all significant versions of all other browsers appear to operate.

Answered by Vincent

Solution #4

To shift background pictures in different positions of the div, adjust the background-position:

div { 
  background-image: url('image url');
  background-position: 0 -250px; 
}

Answered by Codemaker

Post is based on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57725/how-can-i-display-just-a-portion-of-an-image-in-html-css