Ensure that the element fits within the container without increasing in size

My current challenge involves solving a seemingly simple problem. Imagine I have a layout consisting of a header, content, and footer. Within the content section, there is a row of items that fill all available space. Each item has equal width and contains one child element.

The goal is for the children elements to perfectly fit within their parent containers, expanding to utilize maximum space without scaling up - similar to what object-fit: scale-down does for images.

Let's consider the sizes of the elements that need to be accommodated:

  1. 200 x 300
  2. 1920 x 1080
  3. 1080 x 1920

Here is the desired outcome:

https://i.sstatic.net/Oaxe6.png

I am facing difficulties in achieving this result; larger elements either overflow the container or are clipped.

html,
body {
  background-color: #000;
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.layout {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  height: 100%;
}

.top,
.bottom {
  background-color: #444;
  flex-shrink: 0;
  height: 50px;
}

.middle {
  background-color: #222;
  flex-grow: 1;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.items {
  display: flex;
  gap: 20px;
  height: 100%;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.item {
  align-items: center;
  background-color: #666;
  display: flex;
  flex-grow: 1;
  justify-content: center;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.block {
  background-color: #f80;
  background-image: linear-gradient(45deg, orange, purple);
  height: 100%;
  width: 100%;
}

.block1 {
  max-height: 200px;
  max-width: 300px;
}

.block2 {
  max-height: 1080px;
  max-width: 1920px;
}

.block3 {
  max-height: 1920px;
  max-width: 1080px;
}

To summarize, I have rectangles with specific dimensions that need to scale down but not up while maintaining aspect ratio. I have experimented with the aspect-ratio property without success. Is it possible to achieve this without JavaScript calculations?

cssflexbox

Answer №1

After receiving a suggestion from @hedfol to utilize aspect-ratio container queries, I was able to streamline the solution. I standardized all scenarios (4 cases involving horizontal/vertical containers and blocks) using the same approach. Additionally, I optimized the query by employing the aspect-ratio condition exclusively.

Here is an example pattern for a 1920 x 1080 block:

.block2 {
  aspect-ratio: 1920 / 1080;
  width: 1920px;
}

@container (aspect-ratio > 1920 / 1080) {
  .block2 {
    height: 1080px;
    max-height: 100%;
    width: auto;
  }
}

Below is the complete and functional snippet:

html,
body {
  background-color: #000;
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.layout {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  height: 100%;
}

.top,
.bottom {
  background-color: #444;
  flex-shrink: 0;
  height: 50px;
}

.middle {
  background-color: #222;
  flex-grow: 1;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.items {
  display: flex;
  gap: 20px;
  height: 100%;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.item {
  align-items: center;
  background-color: #666;
  container-type: size;
  display: flex;
  flex-grow: 1;
  justify-content: center;
}

.block {
  background-image: linear-gradient(45deg, orange, purple);
}

.block1 {
  aspect-ratio: 300 / 200;
  width: 300px;
}

@container (aspect-ratio > 300 / 200) {
  .block1 {
    height: 200px;
    max-height: 100%;
    width: auto;
  }
}

.block2 {
  aspect-ratio: 1920 / 1080;
  width: 1920px;
}

@container (aspect-ratio > 1920 / 1080) {
  .block2 {
    height: 1080px;
    max-height: 100%;
    width: auto;
  }
}

.block3 {
  aspect-ratio: 1080 / 1920;
  width: 1080px;
}

@container (aspect-ratio > 1080 / 1920) {
  .block3 {
    height: 1920px;
    max-height: 100%;
    width: auto;
  }
}
<div class="layout">
  <div class="top"></div>
  <div class="middle">
    <div class="items">
      <div class="item">
        <div class="block block1"></div>
      </div>
      <div class="item">
        <div class="block block2"></div>
      </div>
      <div class="item">
        <div class="block block3"></div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="bottom"></div>
</div>

I am now considering whether CSS variables can be used to further simplify this solution.

Answer №2

You can actually achieve this without needing any @container requests. By providing the dimensions yourself, you can easily size the <canvas> element to maintain its aspect ratio.
Check out the following example that modifies your code:

html {
  height:100%;
}

body {
  background-color: #000;
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
}

.layout {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  flex: auto;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.top,
.bottom {
  background-color: #444;
  flex: none;
  height: 50px;
}

.middle {
  background-color: #222;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  flex: auto;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.items {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
  gap: 20px;
  flex: auto;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.items-cell {
  overflow: hidden;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
}

.item {
  position: relative;
  margin: auto;
  display: flex;
  max-height: 100%;
}

.item canvas{
  max-width: 100%;
  max-height: 100%;
}

.block {
  position: absolute;
  inset: 0;
  background-image: linear-gradient(45deg, orange, purple);
}
<div class="layout">
  <div class="top"></div>
    <div class="middle">
      <div class="items">
        <div class="items-cell">
        <div class="item" style="aspect-ratio: 200/300;">
          <canvas width="200" height="300"></canvas>
          <div class="block"></div>
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="items-cell">
        <div class="item" style="aspect-ratio: 1080/1920;">
          <canvas width="1080" height="1920"></canvas>
          <div class="block"></div>
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="items-cell">
        <div class="item" style="aspect-ratio: 1920/1080;">
          <canvas width="1920" height="1080"></canvas>
          <div class="block"></div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="bottom"></div>
</div>

Answer №3

Seems like achieving it is possible using the aspect-ratio property along with @container queries:

  1. To start, remove height: 100%; width: 100%; from .block to enable auto width and height.

  2. For "horizontal" blocks where width > height:
  • Delete max-height, retain max-width, and include width: 100%.
  • Integrate aspect-ratio with values based on width / height without pixels (aspect-ratio: 300 / 200; for .block1);
  • Implement an @container query to adjust sizing when space is limited. For .block1:
@container (aspect-ratio > 300 / 200) and (height < 200px) {
  .block1 {
    height: 100%;
    width: auto;
  }
}
  1. For "vertical" blocks where height > width:
  • Delete max-width, maintain max-height, and add height: 100%.
  • Add aspect-ratio similarly to the "horizontal" setup - width / height (aspect-ratio: 1080 / 1920; for .block3);
  • Configure an @container query to adjust sizing when there's not enough space. For .block3:
@container (aspect-ratio < 1080 / 1920) and (width < 1080px) {
  .block3 {
    width: 100%;
    height: auto;
  }
}
  1. Include container-type: size; to .item to define it as a size query container.

Snippet:

html,
body {
  background-color: #000;
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.layout {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  height: 100%;
}

.top,
.bottom {
  background-color: #444;
  flex-shrink: 0;
  height: 50px;
}

.middle {
  background-color: #222;
  flex-grow: 1;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.items {
  display: flex;
  gap: 20px;
  height: 100%;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.item {
  align-items: center;
  background-color: #666;
  display: flex;
  flex-grow: 1;
  justify-content: center;
  overflow: hidden;
  container-type: size;
}

.block {
  background-color: #f80;
  background-image: linear-gradient(45deg, orange, purple);
}

.block1 {
  max-width: 300px;
  width: 100%;
  aspect-ratio: 300 / 200;
}

@container (aspect-ratio > 300 / 200) and (height < 200px) {
  .block1 {
    height: 100%;
    width: auto;
  }
}

.block2 {
  max-width: 1920px;
  width: 100%;
  aspect-ratio: 1920 / 1080;
}

@container (aspect-ratio > 1920 / 1080) and (height < 1080px) {
  .block2 {
    height: 100%;
    width: auto;
  }
}

.block3 {
  max-height: 1920px;
  height: 100%;
  aspect-ratio: 1080 / 1920;
}

@container (aspect-ratio < 1080 / 1920) and (width < 1080px) {
  .block3 {
    width: 100%;
    height: auto;
  }
}
<div class="layout">
  <div class="top"></div>
  <div class="middle">
    <div class="items">
      <div class="item">
        <div class="block block1"></div>
      </div>
      <div class="item">
        <div class="block block2"></div>
      </div>
      <div class="item">
        <div class="block block3"></div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="bottom"></div>
</div>

Update

This elaborate solution extends the simplified approach by author (@Robo Robok) utilizing CSS variables.

All properties are defined within a common .block class:

.block {
  --bw: var(--w);
  --bh: none;
  
  width: auto;
  width: calc(var(--bw) * 1px);
  
  height: calc(var(--bh) * 1px);
  max-height: calc(var(--bh)/var(--bh) * 100%);
  
  aspect-ratio: var(--w) / var(--h);
  background-image: linear-gradient(45deg, orange, purple);
}

Unique variables are set for each specific block, like so:

.block1 {
  --w: 300;
  --h: 200;
}
@container (aspect-ratio > 300 / 200) {
  .block1 {
    --bw: none;
    --bh: var(--h);
  }
}

While grouping @containers or utilizing variables and style() queries could potentially reduce the code, current limitations exist:

Targeting multiple containers in a single container query isn't feasible.

  • The aspect-ratio feature does not support CSS variables.
  • Experimental style() queries have incomplete browser support.

Snippet:

html,
body {
  background-color: #000;
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

.layout {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  height: 100%;
}

.top,
.bottom {
  background-color: #444;
  flex-shrink: 0;
  height: 50px;
}

.middle {
  background-color: #222;
  flex-grow: 1;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.items {
  display: flex;
  gap: 20px;
  height: 100%;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.item {
  align-items: center;
  background-color: #666;
  container-type: size;
  display: flex;
  flex-grow: 1;
  justify-content: center;
}

.block {
  --bw: var(--w);
  --bh: none;
  width: auto;
  width: calc(var(--bw) * 1px);
  height: calc(var(--bh) * 1px);
  max-height: calc(var(--bh)/var(--bh) * 100%);
  aspect-ratio: var(--w) / var(--h);
  background-image: linear-gradient(45deg, orange, purple);
}

.block1 {
  --w: 300;
  --h: 200;
}

@container (aspect-ratio > 300 / 200) {
  .block1 {
    --bw: none;
    --bh: var(--h);
  }
}

.block2 {
  --w: 1920;
  --h: 1080;
}

@container (aspect-ratio > 1920 / 1080) {
  .block2 {
    --bw: none;
    --bh: var(--h);
  }
}

.block3 {
  --w: 1080;
  --h: 1920;
}

@container (aspect-ratio > 1080 / 1920) {
  .block3 {
    --bw: none;
    --bh: var(--h);
  }
}
<div class="layout">
  <div class="top"></div>
  <div class="middle">
    <div class="items">
      <div class="item">
        <div class="block block1"></div>
      </div>
      <div class="item">
        <div class="block block2"></div>
      </div>
      <div class="item">
        <div class="block block3"></div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="bottom"></div>
</div>

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