Achieving a full-height div using CSS and HTML to fill the remaining space

Here is the current layout structure I am working with:

div {
  border: 1px solid
}
<div id="col_1" style="float:left;width:150px;">1</div>
<div id="col_2" style="float:left;width:100px;">2</div>
<div id="col_3" style="float:left;width:<REMAINING_WIDTH>;">3</div>

The first two columns, col_1 and col_2, have fixed widths. I am looking for the best approach to make the third column fill up the remaining space. Any suggestions on how to achieve this?

Answer №1

If you're feeling adventurous, ditch the javascript and CSS3 features that are still a work in progress, and opt for absolute positioning instead.

Take a look at this jsfiddle. Extra credit for maintaining responsiveness during browser resizing.

#col_1 {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0px;
  bottom: 0px;
  width: 100px;
  background-color: #eee;
}
#col_2 {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0px;
  bottom: 0px;
  width: 150px;
  left: 100px;
  background-color: #ccd;
}
#col_3 {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0px;
  bottom: 0px;
  left: 250px;
  right: 0px;
  background-color: #cdc;
}
<div id='col_1'>Column 1</div>
<div id='col_2'>Column 2</div>
<div id='col_3'>
  Column 3
</div>

Answer №2

To achieve the desired effect of having all 3 divs fill up the entire window space (100%), Javascript is required. By using javascript to calculate the remaining space and assigning the appropriate height to col_3, this effect can be achieved. With the help of jQuery, the following code snippet can be used:

var one = $('#col_1').height(),
two = $('#col_2').height(), 
remaining_height = parseInt($(window).height() - one - two); 
$('#col_3').height(remaining_height); 

Answer №3

Even though you've already accepted a solution, consider exploring CSS Flexbox as an alternative. This method is specifically designed to tackle this issue without resorting to "float:left" workarounds. It is supported on Chrome, Safari, and Firefox (with -webkit and -moz prefixes), but not yet on Internet Explorer.

Here are some helpful resources to get you started:

http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-flexbox/

Answer №4

In order for this to function properly, a block formatting context is required:

#box1,#box2 {
    background-color: blue;
    float: right;
    width: 250px;
}
#box2 {
    background-color: orange;
}
#box3 {
    background-color: purple;
    height: 50px;
    overflow: auto;
}

The key element here is the overflow property. For more details, refer to: http://www.example.com/block-formatting-context

Answer №5

After some experimentation, I developed a CSS-only solution that works across multiple browsers including FF12, GC18, SAF5.1, and IE 7,8,9,9CV.

.Clearfix:after {
  content: ".";
  display: block;
  clear: both;
  visibility: hidden;
  line-height: 0;
  height: 0;
}
.Clearfix {
  display: inline-block;
}
html[xmlns] .Clearfix {
  display: block;
}
* html .Clearfix {
  height: 1%;
}
#Wrapper {
  background-color: #FC20C9;
}
#col_1 {
  float: left;
  width: 150px;
  background-color: #FF0000;
}
#col_2 {
  float: left;
  width: 100px;
  background-color: #00CC00;
}
#col_3 {
  width: auto;
  float: none;
  background-color: #0066FF;
  overflow: hidden;
}
<div id="Wrapper" class="Clearfix">
  <div id="col_1">Lorem ipsum</div>
  <div id="col_2">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.</div>
  <div id="col_3">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure
    dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</div>
</div>
enter code here

Answer №6

To calculate the available space, one can either utilize jQuery or leverage the flexibility of CSS3's flexible box properties:

For more information, visit: http://www.html5rocks.com/tutorials/flexbox/quick/

Refer to 'diagram2' for the scenario where the last box with the highest 'box-flex' value will occupy the remaining space (default box-flex is 0).

Answer №7

If your goal is to optimize for newer browsers, consider utilizing the HTML5 calc function for flexible layouts.

#col_3 {
  width: calc(100%-(100px+150px));
}
#red {
  border: 1px solid goldenrod;
}
div {
  border: 1px solid;
}
<div id="red">
  <div id="col_1" style="width:150px; float:left;">1</div>
  <div id="col_2" style="width:100px; float:left;">2</div>
  <div id="col_3">3</div>
</div>

Answer №8

To make it expand to fill everything, remove the width attribute. Alternatively, you can set width:100%. I recommend checking out the Firebug plugin for Firefox.

Answer №9

Enclose the three div elements within a single container, assign specific widths to the first and second columns, and let the third column expand automatically.

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