Maintain consistent alignment of the backgrounds for each term-description pair within a definition list resembling a table

I am trying to style a definition list in HTML to resemble a table using th and td elements in two separate columns, while also having alternating row backgrounds. I have implemented the following CSS for this purpose:

dl {
    font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;
    font-size: 0.6em;
    overflow: hidden;
    width: 200px;;
    }
dl dt {
    font-weight: bold;
    float: left;
    clear: left;
    padding-right: 1%;
    width: 48%;
    }

dl dt:nth-of-type(odd),
dl dd:nth-of-type(odd) {
        background-color: #EEE;
    }
dl dt:nth-of-type(even),
dl dd:nth-of-type(even) {
        background-color: #DDD;    
    }
dl dd {
    float: left;
    width: 50%;
    padding-left: 1%;
    margin-left: 0;
    }

Below is the sample HTML code:

<dl>
  <dt>Key 1</dt>
    <dd>Value 1</dd>
  <dt>Very very very long key 2</dt>
    <dd>Value 2</dd>
  <dt>Key 3</dt>
    <dd>Value 3 with<br /> line breaks</dd>
  <dt>Key 4</dt>
    <dd>Value 4</dd>
</dl>

The issue I am facing is that, due to varying heights of the content, there are "holes" with no background color in the list:

Is there a solution to this problem?

htmlcsscss-tables

Answer №1

This code is compatible with all web browsers

(edit* Not trying to copy Alohci's answer, just noticed it after I posted mine)

<style type="text/css>
dl {
    font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;
    font-size: 0.6em;
    overflow: hidden;
    width: 200px;
}
dl dt {
    font-weight: bold;
    float: left;
    clear: left;
    width: 100px;
    margin-right:-100px;
    padding-right:100px;
}
dl dt, dl dd {
    background-color: #DDD;
}
dl dt.odd, dl dd.odd {
    background-color: #EEE;
}

dl dd {
    float: left;
    width: 100px;
    margin-left: 0;
    padding-left:100px;
    margin-left :-100px
}

span {
    position:relative;
    z-index:10;
}

</style>

<dl>
  <dt class="odd"><span>Key 1</span></dt>
  <dd class="odd"><span>Value 1</span></dd>
  <dt><span>Very very very long key 2</span>
  </dt>
  <dd><span>Value 2</span></dd>
  <dt class="odd"><span>Key 3</span></dt>
  <dd class="odd"><span>Value 3 with<br /> line breaks</span></dd>
  <dt><span>Key 4</span></dt>
  <dd><span>Value 4</span></dd>
</dl>

Answer №2

From what I know, achieving this with CSS is not feasible. It is a common issue with CSS dependent forms. One workaround is using a fake background image to mimic the form's appearance, but this approach restricts the column width.

Alternatively, you could try setting the background-color of the DL to match either the left or right column color. This could potentially solve the issue in this scenario.

Answer №3

  • display: table-cell; doesn't have a container for display: table-row; (especially considering the lack of IE support)

  • display: inline-block; allows for vertical alignment of content, but backgrounds still adhere to the height of the content.

  • If you know which element is the tallest, using min-height could be a solution.

  • If you are certain that each dl will be taller than its dd (or vice versa), there are potential solutions involving floating shorter elements and adding margins to create columns.

  • Alternatively, utilizing progressive enhancement with JavaScript is an option: without JS, the list retains a single background color, but with JS, element heights can be calculated to create a more dynamic layout.

Answer №4

To eliminate the gaps, one possible solution involves wrapping the contents of each dt and dd in a span element. This allows the foreground colors of both elements to overlay the background colors, effectively removing the gaps. It's important to note that older versions of Internet Explorer (prior to IE9) do not support the :nth-of-type selector, so an alternative method involving alternating classes may be necessary in those browsers. Here is an example of how this can be implemented:

dl {
    font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;
    font-size: 0.6em;
    overflow: hidden;
    width: 300px;
    margin-right:-100px;
    }
dl dt {
    font-weight: bold;
    float: left;
    clear: left;
    padding-right: 34%;
    width: 32%;
    }

dl dt:nth-of-type(odd),
dl dd:nth-of-type(odd)  {
        background-color: #EEE;
    }
dl dt:nth-of-type(even),
dl dd:nth-of-type(even)  {
        background-color: #DDD;    
    }

dl dd {
    float: left;
    width: 66%;
    padding-left: 0%;
    margin-left: -66%;
    }

dl dt span {
    position:relative;
    z-index:1;
    display:block;
    }

dl dd span {
    margin-left: 50%;
    display:block;
    }

<dl>
  <dt><span>Key 1</span></dt>
    <dd><span>Value 1</span></dd>
  <dt><span>Very very very long key 2</span></dt>
    <dd><span>Value 2</span></dd>
  <dt><span>Key 3</span></dt>
    <dd><span>Value 3 with<br /> line breaks</span></dd>
  <dt><span>Key 4</span></dt>
    <dd><span>Value 4</span></dd>
</dl>

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