← CSS Support Index

Does CSS orphans Work in HTML Email?

Sets the minimum number of lines in a block container split on an old page, region or column.

Quick Answer

Does orphans work in HTML email?

The CSS orphans property is supported in Outlook (Mac / Web), Apple Mail, Samsung Email. It is NOT supported in Gmail, Outlook (Windows), Yahoo! Mail. Always include a safe fallback for unsupported clients.

Which Email Clients Support CSS orphans?

CSS support for orphans across email clients

Email ClientDesktopMobile / WebNotes
Gmail✗ No✗ No—
Outlook (Windows)✗ No?—
Outlook (Mac / Web)✓ Yes✓ Yes—
Apple Mail✓ Yes✓ Yes—
Yahoo! Mail✗ No✗ No—
Samsung Email?✓ Yes—
Thunderbird??—
ProtonMail??—
Fastmail??—

Notes

  • #1 Buggy. `columns` property is stripped which is required for `orphans` to work
  • #2 Buggy. `orphans` property value is replaced by `auto`
  • #3 Not supported, but Gmail's default styles on the email message container includes the `orphans` property. These values are inherited by children elements
  • #4 Webmail rendering depends on browser support

Frequently Asked Questions

Test Your Email Now

Paste your HTML and see how it renders in clients that don't support
orphans.

Open Email Previewer

Building a new email instead of checking an existing one? MailViewr's Email Builder only lets you use CSS that's known to render across clients, so orphans can't sneak into your markup by accident. Open the Email Builder →