Categorizing dl elements

Question

Categorizing dl elements

Imagine having a definition list with multiple sets. Here's an example:

<dl>
  <dt>Colors
  <dd>Red
  <dd>Blue

  <dt>Shapes
  <dd>Circle
</dl>

Now, what if you want these definitions to be displayed horizontally like this:

Colors    Shapes
Red       Circle
Blue

And even when the browser window is resized, it should wrap neatly like this:

Colors
Red
Blue

Shapes
Circle

Is there a clever way to achieve this layout without breaking the semantic structure of the dl tag?

It seems that only dt and dd elements are allowed within a dl list. Divs or other wrappers can't be used. Splitting into separate lists wouldn't be ideal either. Any suggestions?

html css layout

Answer 1

Answer №1

The guidelines suggest that each group within a dl should be enclosed in a div element:

To add microdata attributes, global attributes that affect entire groups, or for aesthetic reasons, it is recommended to wrap each group in a dl element with a div element. This will not alter the meaning of the dl element.

— https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/grouping-content.html#the-dl-element

Utilize this div for styling purposes such as implementing flex properties.

Answer 2

The guidelines suggest that each group within a dl should be enclosed in a div element:

To add microdata attributes, global attributes that affect entire groups, or for aesthetic reasons, it is recommended to wrap each group in a dl element with a div element. This will not alter the meaning of the dl element.

— https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/grouping-content.html#the-dl-element

Utilize this div for styling purposes such as implementing flex properties.

Answer 3

Answer №2

There isn't a designated tag to enclose both dt and dd tags together. An element called "di" was suggested for XHTML 2.0, but the standard was unsuccessful.

Unlike a ul where each li tag can serve as an inner wrapper for individual list items, in this case each item has a pair of inner tags, making it different from that structure.

Essentially, you should either use a dl or a ul for each column. While semantic markup is preferred, a single dl alone is not optimal for this layout without the presence of a di tag.

Update:

As pointed out by @biziclop, once CSS3 Multiple-column layout becomes standardized and widely supported, splitting columns may be achievable at specified points (with limited additional layout options). Ultimately, the code snippet might resemble the following:

dl {column-width:100px; column-fill:auto;}
dt {break-before:always;}

Answer 4

There isn't a designated tag to enclose both dt and dd tags together. An element called "di" was suggested for XHTML 2.0, but the standard was unsuccessful.

Unlike a ul where each li tag can serve as an inner wrapper for individual list items, in this case each item has a pair of inner tags, making it different from that structure.

Essentially, you should either use a dl or a ul for each column. While semantic markup is preferred, a single dl alone is not optimal for this layout without the presence of a di tag.

Update:

As pointed out by @biziclop, once CSS3 Multiple-column layout becomes standardized and widely supported, splitting columns may be achievable at specified points (with limited additional layout options). Ultimately, the code snippet might resemble the following:

dl {column-width:100px; column-fill:auto;}
dt {break-before:always;}

Answer 5

Answer №3

Experimenting with the less commonly supported multi-column feature in CSS3:

Drawbacks:

Requires a specified height
Does not automatically wrap text (unless utilizing media queries)

http://jsfiddle.net/kERsT/8/

dl {
    -webkit-column-width: 150px;
       -moz-column-width: 150px;
            column-width: 150px;
    /* Must have explicitly defined height */
    height: 250px;
}

dt ~ dt {
    /* Intentionally causing column-break-before behavior */
    margin-top: 1200px;
}

Answer 6

Experimenting with the less commonly supported multi-column feature in CSS3:

Drawbacks:

Requires a specified height
Does not automatically wrap text (unless utilizing media queries)

http://jsfiddle.net/kERsT/8/

dl {
    -webkit-column-width: 150px;
       -moz-column-width: 150px;
            column-width: 150px;
    /* Must have explicitly defined height */
    height: 250px;
}

dt ~ dt {
    /* Intentionally causing column-break-before behavior */
    margin-top: 1200px;
}

Answer 7

Answer №4

In order to resolve the issue at hand, I successfully utilized an unordered list system. The implementation can be seen by following this link: http://jsfiddle.net/radialglo/pXLB4/. It should be noted that specifying the width is optional, but for the sake of demonstration, I assigned a sufficiently large width so as to force content onto the next line. Feel free to manipulate the html viewport on the provided fiddle.

<div>
    <ul>Authors
        <li>John</li>
        <li>Luke</li>
    </ul>
    <ul>
    <li>Editor</li>
    <li>Frank</li>
    </ul>
</div>

The necessary styling code:

div ul{
    float: left;
    list-style: none;
    width: 100px;
    margin-bottom: 1em;
}

If you have a strong preference for maintaining semantic structure, it may prove challenging to find a suitable solution. This is due to the fact that the organization of each term definition and its associated definitions does not lend itself well to easy stylization.

Answer 8

In order to resolve the issue at hand, I successfully utilized an unordered list system. The implementation can be seen by following this link: http://jsfiddle.net/radialglo/pXLB4/. It should be noted that specifying the width is optional, but for the sake of demonstration, I assigned a sufficiently large width so as to force content onto the next line. Feel free to manipulate the html viewport on the provided fiddle.

<div>
    <ul>Authors
        <li>John</li>
        <li>Luke</li>
    </ul>
    <ul>
    <li>Editor</li>
    <li>Frank</li>
    </ul>
</div>

The necessary styling code:

div ul{
    float: left;
    list-style: none;
    width: 100px;
    margin-bottom: 1em;
}

If you have a strong preference for maintaining semantic structure, it may prove challenging to find a suitable solution. This is due to the fact that the organization of each term definition and its associated definitions does not lend itself well to easy stylization.

Answer 9

Answer №5

One way to achieve this is by utilizing absolute positioning and nth-of-type selectors, although these may not be supported by older browsers. You can see a demonstration here: http://jsfiddle.net/PrJWJ/6/

dt,dd{margin:0;}

@media (min-width:20em) /* 10em per column */
{
    /* Enable positioning*/
    dl{position:relative;}
    dt,dd{position:absolute;}

    dt{top:0;} /* All terms at the top */
    dd{top:1.3em;}  /* 1st dd under a term at 1.3em (factoring in line spacing) */
    dd+dd{top:2.6em;} /* 2nd dd under a term */

    /* 1st column */
    dt:nth-of-type(1),
    dt:nth-of-type(1)~dd
    {left:0;}

    /* 2nd column */
    dt:nth-of-type(2),
    dt:nth-of-type(2)~dd
    {left:10em;}
}

@media (max-width:19.99em)
{
    /* Space before a new term */
    dd+dt{margin-top:1em;}
}

It's important to customize and expand on this based on the maximum number of rows and columns you anticipate needing.

Answer 10

One way to achieve this is by utilizing absolute positioning and nth-of-type selectors, although these may not be supported by older browsers. You can see a demonstration here: http://jsfiddle.net/PrJWJ/6/

dt,dd{margin:0;}

@media (min-width:20em) /* 10em per column */
{
    /* Enable positioning*/
    dl{position:relative;}
    dt,dd{position:absolute;}

    dt{top:0;} /* All terms at the top */
    dd{top:1.3em;}  /* 1st dd under a term at 1.3em (factoring in line spacing) */
    dd+dd{top:2.6em;} /* 2nd dd under a term */

    /* 1st column */
    dt:nth-of-type(1),
    dt:nth-of-type(1)~dd
    {left:0;}

    /* 2nd column */
    dt:nth-of-type(2),
    dt:nth-of-type(2)~dd
    {left:10em;}
}

@media (max-width:19.99em)
{
    /* Space before a new term */
    dd+dt{margin-top:1em;}
}

It's important to customize and expand on this based on the maximum number of rows and columns you anticipate needing.

Categorizing dl elements

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

Answer №5

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