Ensure that two div elements always expand to occupy the entire width of the parent div container

Question

Ensure that two div elements always expand to occupy the entire width of the parent div container

Despite my research and understanding of floats, I am struggling to comprehend why I am unable to evenly float two divs within a wrapping div.

#wrap {
    border: 1px solid red;
    height: 200px;
    width: 100%;
}

#gr1 {
   border: 1px solid blue;
   float: left;   
}

#gr2 {
   border: 1px solid blue;
   float: left;
}

<div id="wrap">
<div id="gr1">Group 1
</div>

<div id="gr2">Group 2
</div>
</div>

My expectation is that Group 1 and Group 2 will always equally fill the width of the wrapping div as shown in the image below. I want this layout to remain consistent regardless of the browser size. Despite attempting to set gr1 and gr2 widths to 50%, gr2 consistently drops down below gr1. What aspect am I overlooking?

html css

Answer 1

Answer №1

#container {
    border: 1px solid red;   
    height: 200px;
    width: 100%;
    
}

#group1 {
   border: 1px solid blue;
   float: left;
   
  
}

#group2 {
   border: 1px solid blue;  
   float: left;
}

#group1, #group2 {
  width: 50%;
  box-sizing: border-box
}

<div id="container">
<div id="group1">Group 1
</div>

<div id="group2">Group 2
</div>
</div>

Answer 2

#container {
    border: 1px solid red;   
    height: 200px;
    width: 100%;
    
}

#group1 {
   border: 1px solid blue;
   float: left;
   
  
}

#group2 {
   border: 1px solid blue;  
   float: left;
}

#group1, #group2 {
  width: 50%;
  box-sizing: border-box
}

<div id="container">
<div id="group1">Group 1
</div>

<div id="group2">Group 2
</div>
</div>

Answer 3

Answer №2

Typically, when you set the size of an element, it doesn't take into account any borders or padding that are added to the element. This is why setting a 50% size may not work as expected, as the borders add extra pixels to the overall size.

To change this behavior and have the sizes include the border and padding, you can use the box-sizing property. Here is an example:

#wrap {
    border: 1px solid red;   
    height: 200px;
    width: 100%;
    
}

#gr1 {
   width: 50%;
   box-sizing: border-box;
   border: 1px solid blue;
   float: left;
   
  
}

#gr2 {
   width: 50%;
   box-sizing: border-box;
   border: 1px solid blue;  
   float: left;
}

<div id="wrap">
<div id="gr1">Group 1
</div>

<div id="gr2">Group 2
</div>
</div>

Answer 4

Typically, when you set the size of an element, it doesn't take into account any borders or padding that are added to the element. This is why setting a 50% size may not work as expected, as the borders add extra pixels to the overall size.

To change this behavior and have the sizes include the border and padding, you can use the box-sizing property. Here is an example:

#wrap {
    border: 1px solid red;   
    height: 200px;
    width: 100%;
    
}

#gr1 {
   width: 50%;
   box-sizing: border-box;
   border: 1px solid blue;
   float: left;
   
  
}

#gr2 {
   width: 50%;
   box-sizing: border-box;
   border: 1px solid blue;  
   float: left;
}

<div id="wrap">
<div id="gr1">Group 1
</div>

<div id="gr2">Group 2
</div>
</div>

Ensure that two div elements always expand to occupy the entire width of the parent div container

Answer №1

Answer №2

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