Does width change based on position?

When I set position:absolute for an element, its width remains constant regardless of the text inside.

However, if I set position:relative for the same element, the width will adjust based on the text content.

I have created a fiddle with two menus, each styled differently using the position property: http://jsfiddle.net/je3PX/4/

What is causing this difference? Why does the width change based on the position attribute? I am aiming to make it flexible according to the text size.

Appreciate any insights. Thank you.

css

Answer №1

When it comes to the width property, the default value is auto, which means the element will adjust itself based on the layout requirements. For block-level elements (display:block and similar), this adjustment is made according to the parent container, while for inline elements (display:inline and similar) it adjusts based on the content.

The position attribute plays a role in this behavior. When set to relative, the element remains within the regular flow of the layout, preserving the base rules. On the other hand, setting it to absolute removes the element from the regular flow, resulting in its width being determined by the content it contains.

For more detailed information on these rules, refer to chapter 10 of the W3 CSS2 specification (which is too lengthy to include here).

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