How can I position two spans vertically between two floating divs using CSS?

Question

How can I position two spans vertically between two floating divs using CSS?

On the top of my page, I have two divs - one floated to the left and one to the right. I successfully placed text with border between them. Now, I am facing the challenge of stacking two areas of text between these two divs.

You can see an illustration of my issue in this Fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/TcRxp/

I want the orange box to be positioned under the green box, both center aligned with each other. The "legend" div that is floated to the right used to be at the same level but has shifted down now.

I attempted to add another table to solve the problem, but it didn't work.

I apologize for the messy markup - multiple people have worked on this code over time and none of us are experts.

I have advocated for a designer to join our team, but unfortunately, it has not happened yet.

Thank you,

Paul

html css-float quirks-mode css

Answer 1

Answer №1

UPDATE: Taking @Jeremy B's advice into consideration

Is it necessary to make changes using CSS? When facing situations like this, it's important to pay attention to the order in which HTML elements are placed.

Check out the revised version here: http://jsfiddle.net/TcRxp/8/

I managed to achieve your desired outcome by rearranging the order of the three DIVs and implementing the CSS recommendation from @Jeremy B

In essence, the layout logic is as follows:

Display the float-right content
Display the float-left content
Display the content in the middle (which will now appear to the right of the float-left content).

Answer 2

UPDATE: Taking @Jeremy B's advice into consideration

Is it necessary to make changes using CSS? When facing situations like this, it's important to pay attention to the order in which HTML elements are placed.

Check out the revised version here: http://jsfiddle.net/TcRxp/8/

I managed to achieve your desired outcome by rearranging the order of the three DIVs and implementing the CSS recommendation from @Jeremy B

In essence, the layout logic is as follows:

Display the float-right content
Display the float-left content
Display the content in the middle (which will now appear to the right of the float-left content).

Answer 3

Answer №2

To begin, ensure that your top span is configured as a block element for proper stacking:

<span class="color status active bold" style="display:block">

Status:</span>

Next, align the middle div to the left by adding the float:left property to #headmiddle in your CSS:

Answer 4

To begin, ensure that your top span is configured as a block element for proper stacking:

<span class="color status active bold" style="display:block">

Status:</span>

Next, align the middle div to the left by adding the float:left property to #headmiddle in your CSS:

Answer 5

Answer №3

When it comes to combining CSS and tables for layout, achieving the desired results can be quite challenging.

To simplify your HTML structure, consider the following:

<div id="headleft">a small search form can go here</div>
<div id="headmiddle">
    <div class="active"><strong>Status:</strong> Currently Active</div>
    <div class="search">Displaying search results</div>
</div>
<div id="headright">
    <dl>
        <dt>Legend:</dt>
        <dd>Primary status</dd>
        <dd>Secondary status</dd>
    </dl>
</div>

Here is a simplified version of the CSS code:

div { padding: 2px; }
strong { font-weight: bold; }
#headleft, #headmiddle, #headright { float: left; font-size: 0.8em; }
#headmiddle div { border: 1px solid #000; margin-bottom: 3px; }
.search { background: orange; }
.active { background: #8ed200; }
dt { float: left; font-weight: bold; }
dd { margin-left: 4.5em; }

This approach results in more semantically correct HTML that is easier to read and modify in the future. Check out this example on JSFiddle.

Answer 6

When it comes to combining CSS and tables for layout, achieving the desired results can be quite challenging.

To simplify your HTML structure, consider the following:

<div id="headleft">a small search form can go here</div>
<div id="headmiddle">
    <div class="active"><strong>Status:</strong> Currently Active</div>
    <div class="search">Displaying search results</div>
</div>
<div id="headright">
    <dl>
        <dt>Legend:</dt>
        <dd>Primary status</dd>
        <dd>Secondary status</dd>
    </dl>
</div>

Here is a simplified version of the CSS code:

div { padding: 2px; }
strong { font-weight: bold; }
#headleft, #headmiddle, #headright { float: left; font-size: 0.8em; }
#headmiddle div { border: 1px solid #000; margin-bottom: 3px; }
.search { background: orange; }
.active { background: #8ed200; }
dt { float: left; font-weight: bold; }
dd { margin-left: 4.5em; }

This approach results in more semantically correct HTML that is easier to read and modify in the future. Check out this example on JSFiddle.

Answer 7

Answer №4

Should you want to accomplish this using CSS, you can refer to my alterations: Here is the Fiddle

The enhancements I made are as follows:

#headmiddle span.status { display: block }

This adjustment will result in your spans appearing stacked on top of each other.

Answer 8

Should you want to accomplish this using CSS, you can refer to my alterations: Here is the Fiddle

The enhancements I made are as follows:

#headmiddle span.status { display: block }

This adjustment will result in your spans appearing stacked on top of each other.

Answer 9

Answer №5

After gathering information from various sources, I was able to solve the issue at hand. While Alex Coles' solution was a good starting point, there were still some adjustments to be made, especially in the center alignment. The code snippet I initially utilized can be found in this forum post:

<style type="text/css">
.leftit {
    float: left;
}
.rightit {
    float: right;
}
.centerit {
    width: 30%;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    text-align: center;
}
.centerpage {
    width: 80%;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="centerpage">
<div class="leftit">Hello Left</div>
<div class="rightit">Hello Right</div>
<div class="centerit">Hello Middle</div>
</div>

(View fiddle for above code)

By incorporating the improvements suggested by Alex, I came closer to achieving my objective. However, the width of the center color blocks remained an issue. Referencing this question, I discovered the concept of "max-width," which proved to be the missing piece in the puzzle...or so I thought.

Update: Unfortunately, "max-width" does not work in IE7 quirks mode, which is essential for my project. To address this compatibility issue, I followed the instructions outlined in this webpage to fine-tune my CSS for IE7 quirks mode, IE8, and Firefox.

The finalized code can be viewed in this fiddle link:

.leftit {
    float: left;
    font-size: 0.8em;
}
.rightit {
    float: right;
    font-size: 0.8em;
}
.centerit {
    width:220px;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    font-size: 0.8em;
}
#headmiddle div {
    border: 1px solid #000; 
    margin-bottom: 3px;
}
.centerpage {
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    text-align: center;
}

strong { font-weight: bold; }

.search { background: orange; }
.active { background: #8ed200; }

dt { float: left; font-weight: bold; }
dd { margin-left: 4.5em; }

<div class="centerpage">
    <div class="leftit">a little search form here</div>
    <div class="rightit">
        <dl>
            <dt>Legend:</dt>
            <dd>Status numero uno</dd>
            <dd>Status two</dd>
        </dl>
    </div>
    <div class="centerit" id="headmiddle">
        <div class="active"><strong>Status:</strong>
            Active</div>
        <div class="search">Search results displayed</div>
    </div>
</div>

I appreciate all the valuable insights shared through the answers provided. This experience has been a great learning opportunity for me.

Sincerely, Paul

Answer 10

After gathering information from various sources, I was able to solve the issue at hand. While Alex Coles' solution was a good starting point, there were still some adjustments to be made, especially in the center alignment. The code snippet I initially utilized can be found in this forum post:

<style type="text/css">
.leftit {
    float: left;
}
.rightit {
    float: right;
}
.centerit {
    width: 30%;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    text-align: center;
}
.centerpage {
    width: 80%;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="centerpage">
<div class="leftit">Hello Left</div>
<div class="rightit">Hello Right</div>
<div class="centerit">Hello Middle</div>
</div>

(View fiddle for above code)

By incorporating the improvements suggested by Alex, I came closer to achieving my objective. However, the width of the center color blocks remained an issue. Referencing this question, I discovered the concept of "max-width," which proved to be the missing piece in the puzzle...or so I thought.

Update: Unfortunately, "max-width" does not work in IE7 quirks mode, which is essential for my project. To address this compatibility issue, I followed the instructions outlined in this webpage to fine-tune my CSS for IE7 quirks mode, IE8, and Firefox.

The finalized code can be viewed in this fiddle link:

.leftit {
    float: left;
    font-size: 0.8em;
}
.rightit {
    float: right;
    font-size: 0.8em;
}
.centerit {
    width:220px;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    font-size: 0.8em;
}
#headmiddle div {
    border: 1px solid #000; 
    margin-bottom: 3px;
}
.centerpage {
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    text-align: center;
}

strong { font-weight: bold; }

.search { background: orange; }
.active { background: #8ed200; }

dt { float: left; font-weight: bold; }
dd { margin-left: 4.5em; }

<div class="centerpage">
    <div class="leftit">a little search form here</div>
    <div class="rightit">
        <dl>
            <dt>Legend:</dt>
            <dd>Status numero uno</dd>
            <dd>Status two</dd>
        </dl>
    </div>
    <div class="centerit" id="headmiddle">
        <div class="active"><strong>Status:</strong>
            Active</div>
        <div class="search">Search results displayed</div>
    </div>
</div>

I appreciate all the valuable insights shared through the answers provided. This experience has been a great learning opportunity for me.

Sincerely, Paul

How can I position two spans vertically between two floating divs using CSS?

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

Answer №5

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