Adjust the width of a div using CSS to match the width of its parent element

Question

Adjust the width of a div using CSS to match the width of its parent element

Hey there, I'm currently working on a dynamic layout design. Here's my HTML structure:

<div id="container">
    <div class="box" id="left">Left</div>
    <div class="box" id="center">This is a long text that might get longer</div>
    <div class="box" id="right">Right</div>
    <div class="clear"></div>
</div>

Below is the corresponding CSS code:

#container{
    width: 100%;
}
.box{
    float: left;
}
#left, #right{
    width: 100px;
}
#center{
    width: auto; /* ? */
    overflow: hidden;
}
.clear{
    clear:both;
}

I'm trying to figure out how to make the #center element resize along with the #container without causing the elements to stack below each other. Any suggestions?

html css css-float fluid-layout

Answer 1

Answer №1

Check out these simple corrections for a fluid layout using floating elements without the need for absolute positioning or paddings:

New fiddle added here

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8>
<title>fluid design sample</title>
<style>
    /*set width of columns with this class*/
    .floatbox{
        width:100px;
    }

    #container{
        width: 100%;
        float:left;
    }
    #left{
        float:left;
    }
    #right{
        float:right;
    }
    #center{
        overflow: hidden;
    }
    .clear{
        clear:both;
    }
</style>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="container>
        <!-- right floating column should be placed before the left one -->
        <div class="floatbox" id="right"></div>
        <div class="floatbox" id="left"></div>

        <!-- central column automatically takes up the remaining width -->
        <div id="center">Long text that may expand</div>

        <!-- footer at the bottom, CSS is fine -->
        <div class="clear"></div>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Answer 2

Check out these simple corrections for a fluid layout using floating elements without the need for absolute positioning or paddings:

New fiddle added here

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8>
<title>fluid design sample</title>
<style>
    /*set width of columns with this class*/
    .floatbox{
        width:100px;
    }

    #container{
        width: 100%;
        float:left;
    }
    #left{
        float:left;
    }
    #right{
        float:right;
    }
    #center{
        overflow: hidden;
    }
    .clear{
        clear:both;
    }
</style>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="container>
        <!-- right floating column should be placed before the left one -->
        <div class="floatbox" id="right"></div>
        <div class="floatbox" id="left"></div>

        <!-- central column automatically takes up the remaining width -->
        <div id="center">Long text that may expand</div>

        <!-- footer at the bottom, CSS is fine -->
        <div class="clear"></div>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Answer 3

Answer №2

#container should also be floated (or have overflow: auto/hidden) to make it work. I recommend utilizing some of the popular fluid layout solutions available, such as those outlined in this article:

Answer 4

#container should also be floated (or have overflow: auto/hidden) to make it work. I recommend utilizing some of the popular fluid layout solutions available, such as those outlined in this article:

Answer 5

Answer №3

To avoid the float issues when designing a layout, a clever solution is to use padding on the container and position the left/right elements absolutely within the padding area. You can see a demonstration of this technique at http://www.jsfiddle.net/gaby/8gKWq/1.

HTML

<div id="container">
    <div class="box" id="left">Left</div>
    <div class="box" id="right">Right</div>
    <div class="box" id="centre">This text is long and can get longer</div>
</div>

The order of the divs no longer affects the layout.

CSS

#container{
    padding:0 100px;
    position:relative;
}
.box{
   /*style the boxes here*/
}
#left, #right{
    width: 100px;
    position:absolute;
}
#left{left:0;top:0;}
#right{right:0;top:0;}

#center{
   /*anything specific to the center box should go here.*/
}

Answer 6

To avoid the float issues when designing a layout, a clever solution is to use padding on the container and position the left/right elements absolutely within the padding area. You can see a demonstration of this technique at http://www.jsfiddle.net/gaby/8gKWq/1.

HTML

<div id="container">
    <div class="box" id="left">Left</div>
    <div class="box" id="right">Right</div>
    <div class="box" id="centre">This text is long and can get longer</div>
</div>

The order of the divs no longer affects the layout.

CSS

#container{
    padding:0 100px;
    position:relative;
}
.box{
   /*style the boxes here*/
}
#left, #right{
    width: 100px;
    position:absolute;
}
#left{left:0;top:0;}
#right{right:0;top:0;}

#center{
   /*anything specific to the center box should go here.*/
}

Adjust the width of a div using CSS to match the width of its parent element

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

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