Truncate multiline text

CSS, Layout · Jan 7, 2021

Truncates text that is longer than one line.

Use overflow: hidden to prevent the text from overflowing its dimensions.
Set a fixed width to ensure the element has at least one constant dimension.
Set height: 109.2px as calculated from the font-size, using the formula font-size * line-height * numberOfLines (in this case 26 * 1.4 * 3 = 109.2).
Set height: 36.4px as calculated for the gradient container, based on the formula font-size * line-height (in this case 26 * 1.4 = 36.4).
Use background with linear-gradient() to create a gradient from transparent to the background-color.

Preview

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et.

<p class="truncate-text-multiline">
  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy
  eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et.
</p>

.truncate-text-multiline {
  position: relative;
  overflow: hidden;
  display: block;
  height: 109.2px;
  margin: 0 auto;
  font-size: 26px;
  line-height: 1.4;
  width: 400px;
  background: #f5f6f9;
  color: #333;
}

.truncate-text-multiline::after {
  content: '';
  position: absolute;
  bottom: 0;
  right: 0;
  width: 150px;
  height: 36.4px;
  background: linear-gradient(to right, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0), #f5f6f9 50%);
}

Truncate multiline text

Preview

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