How to Use the CSS Property object-fit

The object-fit property is one of the CSS features used to control how content is displayed within an element, especially for images and videos. This feature allows you to determine how the content should be positioned when its dimensions do not match the dimensions of the container, providing a way to align it properly.

In web design, you may encounter situations where images need to fit consistently within a box display. In such cases, object-fit can be very helpful. For example, if you want an image to completely fill a box without distortion, you can take advantage of this feature.

The object-fit property includes values like fill, contain, cover, none, and scale-down. Each of these values defines specific behaviors for content display. For instance, cover ensures that the image will cover the entire area of the box, while contain allows the image to fit without distorting it within the box.

When using this feature practically, you can utilize it in image galleries, banners, and other areas where images play a significant role. To provide a simple example that demonstrates how to use this property, let's proceed.

<style>
  .image-container {
    width: 300px;
    height: 200px;
    overflow: hidden;
    border: 1px solid #ccc;
  }
  .image-container img {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    object-fit: cover;
  }
</style>

<div class="image-container">
  <img src="example.jpg" alt="Example Image">
</div>

Code Explanation:

<style> - Starts the CSS style section.

.image-container - Class for the box holding the image, defined by width and height in pixels.

overflow: hidden; - Prevents overflow of the additional areas of the image that extend beyond the box constraints.

border: 1px solid #ccc; - Adds a border around the box for clarity.

.image-container img - Selects the image inside the box for applying styles.

width: 100%; and height: 100%; - Sets the dimensions of the image to fill the box completely.

object-fit: cover; - Ensures that the image fills the box while keeping its aspect ratio intact.

</style> - Ends the CSS style section.

<div class="image-container"> - Creates a div with a class for image containment.

<img src="example.jpg" alt="Example Image"> - Places the image within the div with an example image source and alternative text.

</div> - Ends the image containment div.