Preventing flex items from becoming overly tall in Firefox using flex-direction: column

Question

Preventing flex items from becoming overly tall in Firefox using flex-direction: column

Working with flex layout has presented a challenge in Firefox and IE11.

I have set up a codepen to demonstrate the issue.

Screenshot

https://i.sstatic.net/i9KlS.png Chrome(left), Firefox(right)

Description

The intended behavior is for the header and footer to always be visible, while the Content area should utilize overflow-y: auto to scroll its content if necessary. The problem arises in Firefox and Internet Explorer, where the content area grows to match the height of its inner content instead of adhering to the size defined by the flex box specifications. Essentially, adding enough content to the container results in it continuously expanding vertically without triggering scrollbars, eventually causing layout issues.

Although setting an explicit height for the content container can be a temporary solution, it is not our preferred or recommended resolution.
Given the flexible nature of our layout, using percentages is not a feasible option either.

css flexbox

Answer 1

Answer №1

Consider trying the following solution: Apply overflow: auto; to the .main div element.

.container .innerContainer .main {
    background-color: #A3845D;
    flex-grow: 1;
    display: flex;
    overflow: auto; /*<< added */
}

This solution has been tested and works well on my Firefox version (59.0.2), although I am unable to verify its functionality on Internet Explorer at the moment.

Answer 2

Consider trying the following solution: Apply overflow: auto; to the .main div element.

.container .innerContainer .main {
    background-color: #A3845D;
    flex-grow: 1;
    display: flex;
    overflow: auto; /*<< added */
}

This solution has been tested and works well on my Firefox version (59.0.2), although I am unable to verify its functionality on Internet Explorer at the moment.

Answer 3

Answer №2

IMPORTANT - Fecosos provided the correct answer before me, a while ago. I will keep my code here as it removes a lot of unnecessary elements.

I apologize for modifying your code, but it appears to function in FF and Chrome. I cannot guarantee its compatibility with IE. (I remember having issues with Safari, although I'm not sure if it was related to this specific problem.)

Please note that I borrowed this code from an application where I encountered a similar issue. I never fully understood why the problem occurred; I simply experimented with different solutions until I found one that worked.

pen

https://codepen.io/nooble/pen/GxXyzb

code

var rightPanel = document.getElementById("rightPanel");
for(var loop = 0; loop < 50; loop++) {
    var contentNode = document.createElement("div");
    contentNode.className = "content";
    contentNode.innerText = "Content";
    rightPanel.appendChild(contentNode);
}

* { 
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
  text-align: center;
  font-family: "Roboto";
}
body {
  height: 100vh;
}
.container {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  height: 100%;
}
.main {
  display: flex;
  overflow-y: auto; /* this is important */
}
.left {
  flex: 1;
  max-width: 100px;
}
.right {
  flex: 2;
  width: 100%;
  overflow-y: auto; /* this is important */
}
/* additional style details below */
body { background-color: grey; } .header { background-color: red; } .navigator { background-color: #5E6074; } .main { background-color: #A3845D; } .left {background-color: #808080; } .right { background-color: #78AB86; } .content { background-color: #406C98; } .footer { background-color: green; }

<div class="container">
  <div class="header">Header</div>
  <div class="navigator">Navigator</div>
  <div class="main">
    <div class="left">Left</div>
    <div class="right" id="rightPanel">    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="footer">Footer</div>
</div>

Answer 4

IMPORTANT - Fecosos provided the correct answer before me, a while ago. I will keep my code here as it removes a lot of unnecessary elements.

I apologize for modifying your code, but it appears to function in FF and Chrome. I cannot guarantee its compatibility with IE. (I remember having issues with Safari, although I'm not sure if it was related to this specific problem.)

Please note that I borrowed this code from an application where I encountered a similar issue. I never fully understood why the problem occurred; I simply experimented with different solutions until I found one that worked.

pen

https://codepen.io/nooble/pen/GxXyzb

code

var rightPanel = document.getElementById("rightPanel");
for(var loop = 0; loop < 50; loop++) {
    var contentNode = document.createElement("div");
    contentNode.className = "content";
    contentNode.innerText = "Content";
    rightPanel.appendChild(contentNode);
}

* { 
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
  text-align: center;
  font-family: "Roboto";
}
body {
  height: 100vh;
}
.container {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  height: 100%;
}
.main {
  display: flex;
  overflow-y: auto; /* this is important */
}
.left {
  flex: 1;
  max-width: 100px;
}
.right {
  flex: 2;
  width: 100%;
  overflow-y: auto; /* this is important */
}
/* additional style details below */
body { background-color: grey; } .header { background-color: red; } .navigator { background-color: #5E6074; } .main { background-color: #A3845D; } .left {background-color: #808080; } .right { background-color: #78AB86; } .content { background-color: #406C98; } .footer { background-color: green; }

<div class="container">
  <div class="header">Header</div>
  <div class="navigator">Navigator</div>
  <div class="main">
    <div class="left">Left</div>
    <div class="right" id="rightPanel">    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="footer">Footer</div>
</div>

Preventing flex items from becoming overly tall in Firefox using flex-direction: column

Answer №1

Answer №2

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