Center element horizontally at a specified breakpoint and below

Question

Center element horizontally at a specified breakpoint and below

Can I use Bootstrap 4 utilities to horizontally center an element like a <select> within a col at a specific breakpoint and below? I want to achieve this without using custom CSS.

For instance, I want to center a <select> at xs and sm breakpoints, but have it left-aligned at md, lg, and xl breakpoints.

Bootstrap's mx-sm-auto utility only centers the element at the sm breakpoint and above. Here's an example: https://codepen.io/cpj22/pen/QWLZwJd

(Note to editors: I have checked popular answers on SO, all related to horizontally centering inline elements. If there is a similar question, please ensure it refers to block elements as Bootstrap 4 has different utilities for each type)

css twitter-bootstrap bootstrap-4

Answer 1

Answer №1

Being mobile-first is a core principle of Bootstrap 4, with media queries centered around min-width. This design approach means that targeting only specific breakpoints like `xs` and `md` isn't straightforward due to the absence of an `xs` utility size in Bootstrap 4.

But don't worry, you can still customize these rules by introducing additional mobile-first rules for larger breakpoints. By combining the class `ml-md-0` with `mx-auto`, you can remove left margin on `md` and larger breakpoints while keeping the auto margin for `xs` and `sm` breakpoints.

Here's an example to illustrate this concept:

.bg1 {
  background-color: lightgrey;
}

.bg2 {
  background-color: lightblue;
}

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-ggOyR0iXCbMQv3Xipma34MD+dH/1fQ784/j6cY/iJTQUOhcWr7x9JvoRxT2MZw1T" crossorigin="anonymous">

<div class="container mt-5">
  <div class="row">
    <div class="col-6 bg1">
      <div class="row">
        <div class="col-6 mx-auto ml-md-0">
          <select class="form-control mt-5 mb-5">
            <option>select one</option>
            <option>select two</option>
          </select>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="col-6 bg2">
      <div class="row">
        <div class="col-6 col-sm-6">
          &nbsp;
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Answer 2

Being mobile-first is a core principle of Bootstrap 4, with media queries centered around min-width. This design approach means that targeting only specific breakpoints like `xs` and `md` isn't straightforward due to the absence of an `xs` utility size in Bootstrap 4.

But don't worry, you can still customize these rules by introducing additional mobile-first rules for larger breakpoints. By combining the class `ml-md-0` with `mx-auto`, you can remove left margin on `md` and larger breakpoints while keeping the auto margin for `xs` and `sm` breakpoints.

Here's an example to illustrate this concept:

.bg1 {
  background-color: lightgrey;
}

.bg2 {
  background-color: lightblue;
}

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-ggOyR0iXCbMQv3Xipma34MD+dH/1fQ784/j6cY/iJTQUOhcWr7x9JvoRxT2MZw1T" crossorigin="anonymous">

<div class="container mt-5">
  <div class="row">
    <div class="col-6 bg1">
      <div class="row">
        <div class="col-6 mx-auto ml-md-0">
          <select class="form-control mt-5 mb-5">
            <option>select one</option>
            <option>select two</option>
          </select>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="col-6 bg2">
      <div class="row">
        <div class="col-6 col-sm-6">
          &nbsp;
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Answer 3

Answer №2

When using auto margins (mx-auto), the goal is to center the entire column within the row, rather than just the select element inside the column. As @ObsidianAge pointed out, resetting the column centering can be done by setting the margins to 0.

     <div class="col-6 bg1">
            <div class="row">
                <div class="col-6 mx-md-0 mx-auto">
                    <select class="form-control mt-5 mb-5">
                        <option>select one</option>
                        <option>select two</option>
                    </select>
                </div>
            </div>
     </div>

However, I question the need for nesting an inner col-6 within the outer col-6. If the sole purpose of the inner col-6 is to control the width of the form-control field, using w-50 for the input and the responsive text alignment utilities (text-center text-md-left) may be simpler. This approach centers the select element inside the column, rather than the column itself.

   <div class="col-6 bg1 text-center text-md-left">
        <select class="w-50 form-control d-inline mt-5 mb-5">
            <option>select one</option>
            <option>select two</option>
        </select>
   </div>

Check out the demonstration here:

Answer 4

When using auto margins (mx-auto), the goal is to center the entire column within the row, rather than just the select element inside the column. As @ObsidianAge pointed out, resetting the column centering can be done by setting the margins to 0.

     <div class="col-6 bg1">
            <div class="row">
                <div class="col-6 mx-md-0 mx-auto">
                    <select class="form-control mt-5 mb-5">
                        <option>select one</option>
                        <option>select two</option>
                    </select>
                </div>
            </div>
     </div>

However, I question the need for nesting an inner col-6 within the outer col-6. If the sole purpose of the inner col-6 is to control the width of the form-control field, using w-50 for the input and the responsive text alignment utilities (text-center text-md-left) may be simpler. This approach centers the select element inside the column, rather than the column itself.

   <div class="col-6 bg1 text-center text-md-left">
        <select class="w-50 form-control d-inline mt-5 mb-5">
            <option>select one</option>
            <option>select two</option>
        </select>
   </div>

Check out the demonstration here:

Answer 5

Answer №3

Are you interested in replicating this image? Simply use this provided code snippet.

https://i.sstatic.net/qKtG1.png

.bg{
  background: linear-gradient(to left, lightgrey 50%, lightblue 50%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(to left, lightgrey 50%, lightblue 50%);
}

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en>
  <head>
    <!-- Required meta tags -->
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">

    <title>Hello, world!</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container mt-5">
    <div class="row">
      <div class="col-12 bg">
        <div class="row">
          <div class="col-6 mx-sm-auto">
            <select class="form-control mt-5 mb-5">
              <option>select one</option>
              <option>select two</option>
            </select>
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>

   
  </body>
</html>

Answer 6

Are you interested in replicating this image? Simply use this provided code snippet.

https://i.sstatic.net/qKtG1.png

.bg{
  background: linear-gradient(to left, lightgrey 50%, lightblue 50%);
  background: -webkit-linear-gradient(to left, lightgrey 50%, lightblue 50%);
}

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en>
  <head>
    <!-- Required meta tags -->
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">

    <title>Hello, world!</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="container mt-5">
    <div class="row">
      <div class="col-12 bg">
        <div class="row">
          <div class="col-6 mx-sm-auto">
            <select class="form-control mt-5 mb-5">
              <option>select one</option>
              <option>select two</option>
            </select>
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>

   
  </body>
</html>

Center element horizontally at a specified breakpoint and below

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

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