Creating a full-height application with CSS3 Flexbox and managing overflow

Question

Creating a full-height application with CSS3 Flexbox and managing overflow

I'm currently working on an app that utilizes a traditional email layout similar to the one illustrated below.

Using the new CSS3 flexbox model, everything was functioning perfectly until I added the feature for users to dynamically insert new items in the folders box. I expected flexbox to keep the folders box from expanding downwards into the tasks box as long as there was still space available. Unfortunately, this is not the case (tested in Chrome 17).

I have created a JSFiddle here to showcase the issue. Click the Add Folder link and you'll notice the folders box growing despite having ample space left to accommodate the new item.

The question at hand is: How can I use flexbox to create two vertically aligned boxes where one takes up two thirds of the available height (box-flex 2) and the other takes up one third (box-flex 1), ensuring that when new content is added to the first box, it won't expand unless it runs out of space completely?

css flexbox

Answer 1

Answer №1

It's unclear whether the issue lies within a browser bug or if it aligns with the intended behavior of the flex model. If this behavior is indeed expected, I must agree that it may not be very intuitive!

To address this issue, I discovered a workaround by enclosing the lists in an absolutely positioned div with overflow set to auto. This approach allows the flex boxes to maintain their original states and only update when the entire layout is recalculated, as opposed to reacting to content changes.

Here's the revised markup:

<section id="folders">
   <div class="dynamicList">
   <h2>Folders</h2> 
   <ul>
      <li>Folder 1</li>
      <li>Folder 2</li>
   </ul> 
   <a href="#" id="add">Add Folder</a>
   </div>      
</section>

And here is the updated CSS:

#left #tasks,
#left #folders {
  position: relative;
}

.dynamicList {
  bottom: 0;
  left: 0;
  overflow: auto;
  position: absolute;
  right: 0;
  top: 0;
}

I have created a modified version based on your Fiddle for demonstration purposes: http://jsfiddle.net/MUWhy/4/

UPDATE:

If you prefer to keep the headings fixed while allowing only the contents of the folder and tasks lists to scroll, one potential solution would be to place the headings and add buttons in their own fixed-height containers within the #left div. Although it requires additional markup, this approach should simplify the setup. While I haven't tested this on JSFiddle, I believe it offers the most efficient path forward.

Answer 2

It's unclear whether the issue lies within a browser bug or if it aligns with the intended behavior of the flex model. If this behavior is indeed expected, I must agree that it may not be very intuitive!

To address this issue, I discovered a workaround by enclosing the lists in an absolutely positioned div with overflow set to auto. This approach allows the flex boxes to maintain their original states and only update when the entire layout is recalculated, as opposed to reacting to content changes.

Here's the revised markup:

<section id="folders">
   <div class="dynamicList">
   <h2>Folders</h2> 
   <ul>
      <li>Folder 1</li>
      <li>Folder 2</li>
   </ul> 
   <a href="#" id="add">Add Folder</a>
   </div>      
</section>

And here is the updated CSS:

#left #tasks,
#left #folders {
  position: relative;
}

.dynamicList {
  bottom: 0;
  left: 0;
  overflow: auto;
  position: absolute;
  right: 0;
  top: 0;
}

I have created a modified version based on your Fiddle for demonstration purposes: http://jsfiddle.net/MUWhy/4/

UPDATE:

If you prefer to keep the headings fixed while allowing only the contents of the folder and tasks lists to scroll, one potential solution would be to place the headings and add buttons in their own fixed-height containers within the #left div. Although it requires additional markup, this approach should simplify the setup. While I haven't tested this on JSFiddle, I believe it offers the most efficient path forward.

Answer 3

Answer №2

I received this response from another question that is quite similar:

Instead of using @LukeGT's workaround, which doesn't provide a proper solution for achieving the desired effect, you can set a height for the element where you want to enable vertical scrolling.

For achieving a min-height with vertical scroll:

#container article {
    -webkit-flex: 1 1 auto;
    overflow-y: auto;
    min-height: 100px;
}

If you simply want a full vertical scroll when there isn't enough space to display the article:

#container article {
    -webkit-flex: 1 1 auto;
    overflow-y: auto;
    min-height: 0px; /* or height:0px */
}

If you don't specify a height (using height or min-height), the vertical scroll won't be applied. Even with height: 0px;, the calculated height of the element will not be zero.

Here is my solution with the -webkit prefix: http://jsfiddle.net/ch7n6/4/

Edit:

Now that Firefox supports the full flexbox specification, you can remove the -webkit- vendor prefix and it should work in all browsers.

Answer 4

I received this response from another question that is quite similar:

Instead of using @LukeGT's workaround, which doesn't provide a proper solution for achieving the desired effect, you can set a height for the element where you want to enable vertical scrolling.

For achieving a min-height with vertical scroll:

#container article {
    -webkit-flex: 1 1 auto;
    overflow-y: auto;
    min-height: 100px;
}

If you simply want a full vertical scroll when there isn't enough space to display the article:

#container article {
    -webkit-flex: 1 1 auto;
    overflow-y: auto;
    min-height: 0px; /* or height:0px */
}

If you don't specify a height (using height or min-height), the vertical scroll won't be applied. Even with height: 0px;, the calculated height of the element will not be zero.

Here is my solution with the -webkit prefix: http://jsfiddle.net/ch7n6/4/

Edit:

Now that Firefox supports the full flexbox specification, you can remove the -webkit- vendor prefix and it should work in all browsers.

Answer 5

Answer №3

This solution I've come up with is my preferred choice over Jim's method because it's more versatile - it can be applied to any flexbox on any part of a webpage. Jim's approach, on the other hand, is limited to just a box in the top left corner of a page.

To achieve this, I wrapped the section of the flexbox that needed scrolling inside a div.scrollbox. The direct children of this div were given a height of 0 to ensure that additional elements added within it wouldn't affect the layout elsewhere. Additionally, I set its overflow-y property to auto, causing a scrollbar to appear if the content exceeds the boundaries.

.scrollbox {
    -webkit-flex: 1 1 auto;
    overflow-y: auto;
}
.scrollbox > * {
    height: 0;
}

It's important to note that this method only works when the expandable content is enclosed within specific container elements. In the provided example, li elements are nested within a parent ul element, allowing it to function correctly.

I also made adjustments to ensure the proper arrangement of the three components within the top-left flexbox, although these modifications were tailored to the specific application requirements.

#folders {
    display: -webkit-flex;
    -webkit-flex-flow: column;
}
#folders h2, #folders #add {
    -webkit-flex: 0 1 auto;
}

You can find my modified version of the initial jsfiddle here: http://jsfiddle.net/FfZFG/.

Answer 6

This solution I've come up with is my preferred choice over Jim's method because it's more versatile - it can be applied to any flexbox on any part of a webpage. Jim's approach, on the other hand, is limited to just a box in the top left corner of a page.

To achieve this, I wrapped the section of the flexbox that needed scrolling inside a div.scrollbox. The direct children of this div were given a height of 0 to ensure that additional elements added within it wouldn't affect the layout elsewhere. Additionally, I set its overflow-y property to auto, causing a scrollbar to appear if the content exceeds the boundaries.

.scrollbox {
    -webkit-flex: 1 1 auto;
    overflow-y: auto;
}
.scrollbox > * {
    height: 0;
}

It's important to note that this method only works when the expandable content is enclosed within specific container elements. In the provided example, li elements are nested within a parent ul element, allowing it to function correctly.

I also made adjustments to ensure the proper arrangement of the three components within the top-left flexbox, although these modifications were tailored to the specific application requirements.

#folders {
    display: -webkit-flex;
    -webkit-flex-flow: column;
}
#folders h2, #folders #add {
    -webkit-flex: 0 1 auto;
}

You can find my modified version of the initial jsfiddle here: http://jsfiddle.net/FfZFG/.

Creating a full-height application with CSS3 Flexbox and managing overflow

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Similar questions

Activate function when list item is clicked

Removing a jQuery class while simultaneously adding it to different elements

I'm looking to showcase the list in a navigation bar by clicking on the hamburger menu. I want to include the 'home' and 'about' text specifically

degree of transparency when semi-transparent elements overlap

Adjust the size of a div by clicking a button using Javascript

Images displayed on cards using BOOTSTRAP

The boundary extends fully to the right

What is the best way to create rounded thumbnails with the paperclip gem?

Applying a CSS border to a div that perfectly encloses a span, adjusting to the

What is the best way to ensure that the larger child divs always fit perfectly within the parent div?

Ways to change the CSS styles of components within App

The LESS file could not be located. Attempted to find -

Adding Bootstrap to a button is a simple process that can enhance the

Is it possible to create a masonry-style layout with two columns that is responsive without

The translation feature in React does not seem to be functioning properly with SASS

Looking to tilt text at an angle inside a box? CSS can help achieve that effect!

Icons from Material Design Lite are not appearing as expected when integrated into an Angular project

What could be causing the transparency of my buttons when viewed on my device?

Issue with IE 11: Including card image inside anchor tags in Bootstrap 4 causes unwanted white space

Step-by-step guide on achieving 100% height for a child element within a parent using Flexbox