Increasing the size of a container element with various background images

I'm facing a unique challenge that I can't seem to figure out. To better illustrate my problem, I've created an image:

Essentially, I have a DIV divided into 3 sections - top, middle, and bottom. All three sections have background images, but I need the middle section (the blue part with borders) to expand as more content is added. The issue is that the content should cover the entire DIV, not just the middle section.

Current setup:

HTML:

<div id="panel">
    <div id="top"></div>

    <div id="middle">
        <div id="content">
            Lorem ipsum, etc...
        </div>
    </div>

    <div id="bottom"></div>
</div>

CSS:

#panel {
    float: left;
    width: 300px;
    position: relative;
}

#top {
    position: absolute;
    left: 0;
    top: 0;
    height: 100px;
    width: 100%;
    background: url(top.png) no-repeat;
}

#middle {
    float: left;
    margin-top: 100px;
    width: 100%;
    min-height: 200px;
    background: url(middle.png) repeat-y;
}

#bottom {
    position: absolute;
    left: 0;
    bottom: 0;
    height: 100px;
    width: 100%;
    background: url(bottom.png) no-repeat;
}

This current approach isn't working for me, so I'm open to any suggestions or ideas to solve this problem!

htmlcss

Answer №1

The information provided will always be limited as it is contained within the middle panel, which is intentionally set to not fully occupy the entire #panel element. To resolve this, relocate the #content inside the #panel element...

<div id="panel">
    <div id="top"></div>
    <div id="middle"></div>
    <div id="bottom"></div>
    <div id="content">
        Lorem ipsum, etc...
    </div>
</div>

Use position: absolute; for #middle just like for #top and #bottom:

#panel {
    height: 400px; /* or 100% or desired value */
    width: 300px;
    position: relative;
}

#top,
#middle,
#bottom {
    left: 0;
    position: absolute;
    width: 100%;
}

#top {
    height: 100px;
    background: url(top.png) no-repeat;
    top: 0;
}

#middle {
    bottom: 100px;
    top: 100px;
    background: url(middle.png) repeat-y;
}

#bottom {
    bottom: 0;
    height: 100px;
    background: url(bottom.png) no-repeat;
}

#content {
    /* Add any necessary padding here */
    position: relative;
}

Link to Example

Answer №2

Here is how I would approach it:

http://jsfiddle.net/5dvgk/5/

This is the HTML structure:

    <div id="middle">
        <div id="content">
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
            Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
        </div>
    </div>

    <div id="bottom"></div>
</div>

As for the CSS styling:

#panel {
    width: 330px;
    position: relative;
    background: url(http://oi44.tinypic.com/acoeo.jpg);
}

#top {
    position: absolute;
    left: 0;
    top: 0;
    z-index: 0;
    height: 170px;
    width: 100%;
    background: url(http://oi43.tinypic.com/2zedqqc.jpg)
}

#middle {   
    position: relative;
    z-index: 1;
    min-height: 300px;
    padding-left: 50px;
    padding-top: 70px;
    padding-bottom: 70px;
}

#bottom {
    position: absolute;
    left: 0;
    bottom: 0;
    z-index: 0;
    height: 170px;
    width: 100%;
    background: url(http://oi43.tinypic.com/34i0jeu.jpg);
}

Answer №3

To create a visually appealing layout, it is essential to create a separate content area distinct from the background.

For reference, you can check out an example on http://jsfiddle.net/8bgj5/4/

You can implement something similar to this:

<div class="container">
    <div class="background">
        <div class="header">
        </div>
        <div class="main-content">
        </div>
        <div class="footer">
        </div>
    </div>
    <div class="content-area">
        Insert your content here
    </div>
</div>

Your CSS code might look something like this:

.container {
    float: left;
    width: 400px;
    position: relative;
}
.background {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    z-index: 1;
}
.header {
    position: absolute;
    top: 0;
    left: 0;
    height: 150px;
    width: 100%;
    background: url(header.png) no-repeat;
    z-index: 2;
}
.main-content {
    position: absolute;
    top: 150px;
    left: 0;
    height: 300px;
    width: 100%;
    background: url(content-bg.png) repeat-y;
    z-index: 1;
}
.footer {
    position: absolute;
    bottom: 0;
    left: 0;
    height: 50px;
    width: 100%;
    background: url(footer.png) no-repeat;
    z-index: 2;
}
.content-area {
    float: left;
    width: 400px;
    position: relative;
    z-index: 3;
}

Answer №4

If you are using newer browsers that support parts of the CSS3 specification, you can easily achieve this by utilizing CSS3 multiple backgrounds. However, for older browser support, your current method is still effective. You would need to position the top and bottom divs absolutely, ensuring they render behind the middle div by setting the position property and adjusting the z-index.

A comparison between both approaches has been created in a jsFiddle demo. One side demonstrates CSS3 multiple backgrounds, while the other showcases an adaptation of your existing technique.

HTML

<div id="css3-multiple-backgrounds">Content goes here..</div>

<div id="any-browser-not-using-css3">
    <div class="top"></div>
    <div>Content goes here..</div>
    <div class="bottom"></div>
</div>

CSS

#css3-multiple-backgrounds {
    background: url(https://example.com/dots.png) left top no-repeat,        
                url(https://example.com/dots.png) left bottom no-repeat,
                url(https://example.com/bg.png) center center repeat-y;
}
#any-browser-not-using-css3 {
    background: url(https://example.com/bg.png) center center repeat-y;
    position: relative;
}
#any-browser-not-using-css3 > div {
    position: relative;
    z-index: 2;
}
#any-browser-not-using-css3 > div[class] {
    position:absolute;
    background: url(https://example.com/dots.png) left top no-repeat;
    width: 100%;
    height: 50px;
    left: 0px;
    z-index: 1;
}
#any-browser-not-using-css3 > div.top {
    top: 0px;
}
#any-browser-not-using-css3 > div.bottom {
    bottom: 0px;
}

Answer №5

There are multiple ways to achieve this effect, as evidenced by the various answers provided.

In my approach, I utilized pure CSS and a bit of positioning using `position: relative`. It's important to note that for this method to work effectively, the background image of the middle content box must be transparent within the content area.

I streamlined the code by eliminating unnecessary floats and absolute positioning, allowing the boxes to stack neatly on top of each other:

Feel free to check out this live demo in action, tested across different browsers such as IE9, Firefox, and Chrome. It should also be compatible with older versions like IE6, given my past success with this technique. Live Demo

While making assumptions about the styling of the middle content box, I incorporated a background image to enhance its appearance.

CSS

            #panel {
                width: 234px;
            }

            #top {
                height:49px;
                background: url(http://s7.postimg.org/f1usobsnf/top.gif) no-repeat;
                z-index:1;
            }

            #middle {
                position:relative;
                top:-20px;
                width: 134px;
                min-height: 200px;
                padding:0 50px 0 50px;
                background: url(http://s23.postimg.org/gups2v0wb/mid.gif) repeat-y;
                z-index:2;
            }

            #bottom {
                position:relative;
                top:-30px;
                height:49px;
                width: 100%;
                background: url(http://s12.postimg.org/s78huz5u5/bottom.gif) no-repeat;
                z-index:1;
            }

HTML

            <div id="panel">
                <div id="top"></div>

                <div id="middle">
                    <div id="content">
                        Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla quis condimentum lacus. Duis tempor bibendum ante, non luctus leo mollis vitae. Nunc in augue massa, ut facilisis velit. Etiam in magna lacus, in lacinia lectus. Nulla facilisi. Aenean rutrum, magna sed molestie condimentum, magna arcu ornare nisl, id luctus turpis felis ornare lorem. Aenean placerat erat in nisi convallis feugiat. Ut sodales tincidunt tellus, nec eleifend ligula posuere nec. Proin sit amet quam quam, mollis laoreet diam. Sed volutpat libero et velit commodo laoreet. Vestibulum eros dui, hendrerit molestie sodales eget, ullamcorper sed enim. Integer tempus, eros at dapibus ultricies, mauris risus sagittis metus, quis consequat massa mi quis felis. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Etiam sagittis blandit odio, sed vulputate quam egestas id. 
                    </div>
                </div>

                <div id="bottom"></div>
            </div>

Answer №6

Many of the choices listed above involve complex HTML/CSS. Below is an example that only requires two DIV tags and some CSS.

HTML:

<div class="border">
  <div class="content">
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
    Lorem ipsum, etc...<br/>
  </div>
</div>

CSS:

.border { 
    position: relative; 
    width: 234px;
    background: #fff url(http://i41.tinypic.com/axzj0o.jpg) top center repeat-y;
}
.border:before, .border:after {
    position: absolute; 
    content: '';
    display: inline-block;
    height: 53px; width: 234px;
}
.border:before {
    top: 0; left: 0;
    background: transparent url(http://i41.tinypic.com/2jgwn6.jpg) top center no-repeat;
}
.border:after {
    bottom: 0; left: 0;
    background: transparent url(http://i43.tinypic.com/vfiiag.jpg) bottom center no-repeat;
}
.border > .content { 
    background: transparent;
    position: relative;
    padding: 13px;
    z-index: 1;
}

This approach involves three overlapping graphics as follows:

  1. Background

    https://i.sstatic.net/5ozby.jpg

  2. Top

    https://i.sstatic.net/3JTJl.jpg

  3. Bottom

    https://i.sstatic.net/3f85b.jpg

The Background image is applied to the outer DIV, .border, and is allowed to repeat-y (repeat vertically along the y axis). The Top image is applied to the :before pseudo-element, and the Bottom image is applied to the :after pseudo-image.

Next, the .content DIV, :before and :after elements are all positioned so that they can have z-index applied. Because :before and :after are position: absolute, they no longer take up space in the flow - and therefore they do not affect the positioning of .content or each other.

This means that the .content inner-DIV will flow within its parent on its own, filling to the corners of .border.

However, it still needs to be given a z-index: 1 in order to appear in front of the :before and :after elements - which completes the effect.

I have edited your images to demonstrate how this solution works. Here is a screenshot of the result:

https://i.sstatic.net/JZrbw.jpg

And here is a jsFiddle showcasing the implementation.

Answer №7

I'm not entirely sure if this can be achieved solely with CSS, but one way to approach it would be as follows:

Firstly, divide your layout into 3 main areas and introduce a push element:

<div id="container">
  <div id="top"></div>
  <div id="content"></div>
  <div id="push"></div>
  <div id="bottom"></div>
</div>

Take the content out of the normal flow:

#content { position: absolute; }

Calculate the necessary height for the push element:

var h = $("#content").height() * 0.5;
$("#push").css({ "height": h });

Here's an example in action: http://jsfiddle.net/RM9NS/1/

Answer №8

Experimenting with CSS3 opens up the possibility of applying multiple backgrounds to a single tag. However, caution must be exercised when stretching images with unique features like stars, as they may lose their integrity using this approach.

I recently tried out an example that almost achieved the effect I was aiming for. This technique works well on images with gradients and no distinct features. Nevertheless, stretching any image too much will inevitably result in pixelation. In most cases, CSS of this type typically involves creating a 1px wide gradient extending to 'x' length, making pixelation less noticeable.

<html>
<head>
 <style>
#container {
background: url(red.jpg) no-repeat, 
            url(checkered.jpg) no-repeat, 
            url(purple.jpg) no-repeat;

background-position: 0 0 , 0 20%, 0 100%;
background-size: 100% 20%, 100% 80%, 100% 20%;
}
 </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="container">
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>
        <div>Lorem Ipsum</div>

    </div>
</body>
</html>

Answer №9

Take a look at this example on jsFiddle

If you need to, you can customize the margin and apply 

display: inline-block; width: --px;
.

UPDATE

Upon revisiting the question, I created a new solution here: http://jsfiddle.net/5dvgk/7/

Answer №10

Have you considered combining the three images into a single file to simplify your layout? It could streamline your design and eliminate the need for complex styling.

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