How come the div below a floated div appears to be overlapping the floated one?

Question

How come the div below a floated div appears to be overlapping the floated one?

My webpage has a layout with a floated left sidebar, breadcrumbs, and the main content area on the right.

When inspecting the breadcrumbsContainer in the jsFiddle link provided, you may notice that its left edge aligns with the browser window's left edge instead of the right edge of the sidebar as expected.

I have searched for similar issues but have not found one with an answer yet.

Below is the HTML code:

<div>
    <div id="sidebar">
        <div class="menuItem">Users</div>
        <div class="menuItem">Settings</div>
    </div>
    <div class="breadcrumbsContainer">
        Breadcrumbs go here
    </div>
    <div class="main">
    Main content goes here
    </div>
</div>

And the CSS:

#sidebar {
    float: left;
    width: 200px;
}

.menuItem {
    height: 60px;
    border-top: 1px solid white;
    background: lightBlue;
}

.breadcrumbsContainer {
    height: 24px;
    background: lightGrey;
}

.main {
    background: #f5f5f5;
    overflow: scroll;
}

jsFiddle

http://jsfiddle.net/LCdwV/2/

Notes

The .main div is positioned as expected.
Removing the overflow:scroll from the .main div caused it to behave like the breadcrumbsContainer.
Adding overflow:scroll (or overflow:hidden) to the breadcrumbsContainer adjusted its bounding box.

Questions

Why does the breadcrumbsContainer's bounding box start differently than expected, even though its text displays correctly?
What is the correct way to set up this layout without overlapping elements and ensure they resize with the browser window?

I could easily achieve this using absolute positioning and jQuery's resize() event, but I believe there should be a better solution.

Thank you.

jquery html css css-float

Answer 1

Answer №1

When using the <code>float property, it removes an element from its normal position in the flow of the document. This causes neighboring elements to be positioned as if the floated element does not exist, resulting in overlapping issues like we see with .breadcrumb-container.

However, this behavior changes when an element has an inline display. In that case, the text respects the float and aligns itself against the right edge, allowing for proper wrapping around the floated element.

Answer 2

When using the <code>float property, it removes an element from its normal position in the flow of the document. This causes neighboring elements to be positioned as if the floated element does not exist, resulting in overlapping issues like we see with .breadcrumb-container.

However, this behavior changes when an element has an inline display. In that case, the text respects the float and aligns itself against the right edge, allowing for proper wrapping around the floated element.

Answer 3

Answer №2

Upon reviewing your code, I have come up with a solution:

In order to maintain consistency in the layout, you should ensure that all subsequent div elements after applying a float: left rule also have this rule. For instance, if the next div class is breadCrumbsContainer and it does not have a float rule, you will need to define float: left for .breadCrumbsContainer as well as for main. However, there may be an issue with the width of the div as it will adjust based on its content.

My suggestion is to establish your layouting rules initially, like so:

#sidebar {
    float: left;
    width: 20%;
}

.menuItem {
    height: 60px;
    border-top: 1px solid white;
    background: lightBlue;
}

.breadcrumbsContainer {
    float: left;
    width: 80%;
    height: 24px;
    background: lightGrey;
}

.main {
    float: left;
    width: 80%;
    background: #f5f5f5;
    overflow: scroll;
}

Alternatively, you can set the sidebar position to be absolute and introduce a wrapping div for the main content

CSS :

#sidebar {
    position: absolute;
    width: 200px;
}
.main-container{
    position: relative;
    left: 200px;
}
.menuItem {
    height: 60px;
    border-top: 1px solid white;
    background: lightBlue;
}

.breadcrumbsContainer {
    height: 24px;
    background: lightGrey;
}

.main {
    background: #f5f5f5;
    overflow: scroll;
}

HTML :

<div>
    <div id="sidebar">
        <div class="menuItem">Users</div>
        <div class="menuItem">Settings</div>
    </div>
    <div class="main-container">
        <div class="breadcrumbsContainer">
            Breadcrumbs go here
        </div>
        <div class="main">
        Main content goes here
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

I highly recommend exploring the bootstrap framework for additional guidance

Answer 4

Upon reviewing your code, I have come up with a solution:

In order to maintain consistency in the layout, you should ensure that all subsequent div elements after applying a float: left rule also have this rule. For instance, if the next div class is breadCrumbsContainer and it does not have a float rule, you will need to define float: left for .breadCrumbsContainer as well as for main. However, there may be an issue with the width of the div as it will adjust based on its content.

My suggestion is to establish your layouting rules initially, like so:

#sidebar {
    float: left;
    width: 20%;
}

.menuItem {
    height: 60px;
    border-top: 1px solid white;
    background: lightBlue;
}

.breadcrumbsContainer {
    float: left;
    width: 80%;
    height: 24px;
    background: lightGrey;
}

.main {
    float: left;
    width: 80%;
    background: #f5f5f5;
    overflow: scroll;
}

Alternatively, you can set the sidebar position to be absolute and introduce a wrapping div for the main content

CSS :

#sidebar {
    position: absolute;
    width: 200px;
}
.main-container{
    position: relative;
    left: 200px;
}
.menuItem {
    height: 60px;
    border-top: 1px solid white;
    background: lightBlue;
}

.breadcrumbsContainer {
    height: 24px;
    background: lightGrey;
}

.main {
    background: #f5f5f5;
    overflow: scroll;
}

HTML :

<div>
    <div id="sidebar">
        <div class="menuItem">Users</div>
        <div class="menuItem">Settings</div>
    </div>
    <div class="main-container">
        <div class="breadcrumbsContainer">
            Breadcrumbs go here
        </div>
        <div class="main">
        Main content goes here
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

I highly recommend exploring the bootstrap framework for additional guidance

Answer 5

Answer №3

Although the div is still anchored or positioned to the left edge of the window, its content does not start until after the sidebar, creating a unique scroll behavior that separates the two elements. This difference becomes apparent when inspecting the page as the scroll bars prevent the div from aligning all the way to the left. Essentially, you are experiencing the correct functionality but encountering one of the peculiarities of CSS.

Answer 6

Although the div is still anchored or positioned to the left edge of the window, its content does not start until after the sidebar, creating a unique scroll behavior that separates the two elements. This difference becomes apparent when inspecting the page as the scroll bars prevent the div from aligning all the way to the left. Essentially, you are experiencing the correct functionality but encountering one of the peculiarities of CSS.

How come the div below a floated div appears to be overlapping the floated one?

jsFiddle

Notes

Questions

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

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