Looking for assistance with aligning UL elements in CSS using absolute positioning for a dropdown effect

I'm currently working on implementing a language switching feature on this website. The concept involves using a SPAN element that reveals a dropdown box (based on UL) containing a list of available languages when hovered over. Below is a preview of the effect I am aiming to achieve.

View Image http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/3474/dropboxfinal.png

The dropdown box is essentially an unordered list that is initially hidden. Upon hovering over the span, I have set it up to make the UL visible. Here's a snippet of the HTML and CSS involved.

HTML

<span id="langswitch">Language↓
    <ul id="langlist">
        <li class="en">
            <a title="Current language: English" href="http://domain/en">
                <img width="16" height="13" alt="English Language" src="flag-en.gif" /> 
                English
            </a>
        </li>

        <li class="th">
            <a title="Switch to Thai language" href="http://domain/th">
                <img width="16" height="13" alt="Thai Language" src="flag-th.gif" /> 
                Thai
            </a>    
        </li>

        <li class="zh">         
            <a title="Switch to Chinese language" href="http://domain/zh">
                <img width="16" height="13" alt="Chinese Language" src="flag-zh.gif" /> 
                Chinese
            </a>
        <li>
    </ul>
</span>

CSS

ul#langlist {
    border:1px solid #3399CC;
    color:#006699;
    background:#fff;
    padding:0 !important;
    width:100px;
    list-style:none;
    position:absolute;
    top:62px;
    right:0;
    z-index:100;
    display:none;
}

span#langswitch:hover ul#langlist { display:block; }

However, rather than the dropdown being aligned with my span as intended, it appears at the far-right edge of the browser window. Please refer to the screenshot below for clarification.

View Image http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/1687/dropbox.png

If any CSS experts out there could suggest a solution to this issue, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you, m^e

csslisthtmldrop-down-menupositioning

Answer №1

To align the list vertically and horizontally, adjust the position of the "span" to "relative", set a fixed width for the "span," and play around with the values of "top" and "left" on #langlist.

UPDATE (ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION): When you place an element with absolute positioning on a webpage, its position (determined by "top" and "left" attributes) is calculated relative to the html page. The "left" and "top" values represent the coordinates of an imaginary coordinate system with the origin at the top-left corner.

For elements in the head of the webpage, this isn't usually an issue. However, elements with absolute positioning within the content remain fixed in place and do not move along with scrolling or resizing of the page!

If you change the position of the container holding the absolutely positioned element to "relative," the "top" and "left" values are calculated relative to that container, resolving the issue.

REGARDING YOUR CODE: Without HTML5 Doctype, applying the "hover" pseudo-class to non-link elements is technically invalid. Consider using a jQuery function to show the list when hovering over #label. You can also tweak your code by adjusting the "margin-top" value of #langlist to manage the distance of the list from #label:

<style type="text/css">
#container{
    position: relative;
    width:100px;
}

#langswitch{
    padding: 0px;
    margin: 0px;
    list-style:none;
    position:absolute;
}

#langlist {
    border:1px solid #39C;
    color:#069;
    background:#fff;
    padding:0 !important;
    margin-top: 2px;
    width:100px;
    top:20px;
    left:0px; 
    display: none;
}

#container:hover #langlist{
    display:block;
}

img{
    background-color: #CCC;
    border: 1px solid black;
}
</style>


<div id="container">
    <ul id="langswitch">
    <li>
        <a id="label" href="#">Language↓</a>
        <ul id="langlist">
        <li class="en">
            <a title="Current language: English" href="http://domain/en">
                <img width="16" height="13" alt="English Language" src="flag-en.gif" /> 
                English
            </a>
        </li>

        <li class="th">
            <a title="Switch to Thai language" href="http://domain/th">
                <img width="16" height="13" alt="Thai Language" src="flag-th.gif" /> 
                Thai
            </a>    
        </li>

        <li class="zh">                 
            <a title="Switch to Chinese language" href="http://domain/zh">
                <img width="16" height="13" alt="Chinese Language" src="flag-zh.gif" /> 
                Chinese
            </a>
        </li>
        </ul>
    </li>
    </ul>
</div>

Please note that this solution may not be compatible with IE6!

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