The form's label occupies excessive space beyond what is necessary

Question

The form's label occupies excessive space beyond what is necessary

I am facing an issue with the layout of my form. It is structured in three columns: the first column for labels, the second column for inputs, and the third column for units (such as cm or kg). All components are placed inside a table within the form. However, the first column is occupying more horizontal space than necessary even though it has no padding, margin, or border. Below is the code snippet:

body {
font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', sans-serif;
font-size: 14px;
color: #222222;
}

table {
width: 100%;
white-space: nowrap;
}

input {
background-color: #DACBDF;
padding: 8px 10px 8px 10px;
width: 91.5%;
font-family: Georgia;
font-size: 13px;
border: 1px solid #EEEEEE;
}

I have attempted to address this issue by setting td {width: auto}, but it does not seem to resolve the problem. Any insights on why this might be happening?

UPDATE: Upon further examination, I realize that my question may lack clarity. My ultimate goal is for the width of the td tags to adjust dynamically based on the content inside them. Can anyone provide guidance on achieving this functionality?

html css html-table

Answer 1

Answer №1

It seems that what you are trying to achieve is not feasible.

If your table has a set width:100%, then the tds will automatically expand to fill the available space in order to maintain the table's specified width.

You might need to specify which columns should have flexible widths and which ones should remain fixed. Unfortunately, you cannot have both options simultaneously.

You can try something like this:

tr > td:last-of-type, tr > td:first-of-type {
  width: 50px !important; /* adjust width as necessary to accommodate longer words */
}

/* changed 'td' selector to 'input' */
input{
    width: 95%;
    /* other properties */
}

I've simplified your code into a MCVE.

Check out the live demonstration here:

table {
  width: 100%;
  white-space: nowrap;
}

input {
  background-color: #DACBDF;
  padding: 8px 10px 8px 10px;
  width: 95%;
  font-family: Georgia;
  font-size: 13px;
  border: 1px solid #EEEEEE;
}

input:hover {
  border: 1px solid green;
}

input:focus {
  background-color: #DACBFF;
  border: 1px solid #FF0000;
}

input[type="submit"] {
  font: 13px "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", sans-serif;
  padding: 8px 15px 8px 15px;
  width: auto;
  border: 1px solid #EEEEEE;
  color: #222222;
}

input[type="submit"]:hover {
  background: #4691A4;
  box-shadow: none;
  -moz-box-shadow: none;
  -webkit-box-shadow: none;
}


tr > td:last-of-type, tr > td:first-of-type {
  width: 50px !important; /* adjust width as necessary to fit longest word */
}

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><label>Height:</label></td>
    <td><input type="text" id="height" name="height" value="" maxlength="5" /></td>
    <td>cm</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><label>Navel:</label></td>
    <td><input type="text" id="navel" name="navel" value="" maxlength="5" /></td>
    <td>cm</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><label>Neck:</label></td>
    <td><input type="text" id="neck" name="neck" value="" maxlength="4" /></td>
    <td>cm</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><label>Weight:</label></td>
    <td><input type="text" id="weight" name="weight" value="" maxlength="4" /></td>
    <td>kg</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><input type="submit" id="calculate" name="calculate" value="Calculate" /></td>
    <td></td>
  </tr>
</table>

Answer 2

It seems that what you are trying to achieve is not feasible.

If your table has a set width:100%, then the tds will automatically expand to fill the available space in order to maintain the table's specified width.

You might need to specify which columns should have flexible widths and which ones should remain fixed. Unfortunately, you cannot have both options simultaneously.

You can try something like this:

tr > td:last-of-type, tr > td:first-of-type {
  width: 50px !important; /* adjust width as necessary to accommodate longer words */
}

/* changed 'td' selector to 'input' */
input{
    width: 95%;
    /* other properties */
}

I've simplified your code into a MCVE.

Check out the live demonstration here:

table {
  width: 100%;
  white-space: nowrap;
}

input {
  background-color: #DACBDF;
  padding: 8px 10px 8px 10px;
  width: 95%;
  font-family: Georgia;
  font-size: 13px;
  border: 1px solid #EEEEEE;
}

input:hover {
  border: 1px solid green;
}

input:focus {
  background-color: #DACBFF;
  border: 1px solid #FF0000;
}

input[type="submit"] {
  font: 13px "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", sans-serif;
  padding: 8px 15px 8px 15px;
  width: auto;
  border: 1px solid #EEEEEE;
  color: #222222;
}

input[type="submit"]:hover {
  background: #4691A4;
  box-shadow: none;
  -moz-box-shadow: none;
  -webkit-box-shadow: none;
}


tr > td:last-of-type, tr > td:first-of-type {
  width: 50px !important; /* adjust width as necessary to fit longest word */
}

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><label>Height:</label></td>
    <td><input type="text" id="height" name="height" value="" maxlength="5" /></td>
    <td>cm</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><label>Navel:</label></td>
    <td><input type="text" id="navel" name="navel" value="" maxlength="5" /></td>
    <td>cm</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><label>Neck:</label></td>
    <td><input type="text" id="neck" name="neck" value="" maxlength="4" /></td>
    <td>cm</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><label>Weight:</label></td>
    <td><input type="text" id="weight" name="weight" value="" maxlength="4" /></td>
    <td>kg</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><input type="submit" id="calculate" name="calculate" value="Calculate" /></td>
    <td></td>
  </tr>
</table>

Answer 3

Answer №2

If you include the CSS property border-collapse: collapse; in the styling for the table element, it can improve the layout to some extent:

body {
font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', sans-serif;
font-size: 14px;
color: #222222;
}

table {
width: 100%;
white-space: nowrap;
    border-collapse: collapse;
}
... (CSS styling continues)

<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<title>Body Fat Calculator</title>
... (HTML content begins)

Answer 4

If you include the CSS property border-collapse: collapse; in the styling for the table element, it can improve the layout to some extent:

body {
font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', sans-serif;
font-size: 14px;
color: #222222;
}

table {
width: 100%;
white-space: nowrap;
    border-collapse: collapse;
}
... (CSS styling continues)

<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
<title>Body Fat Calculator</title>
... (HTML content begins)

Answer 5

Answer №3

table{table-layout: auto;}
td:first-of-type{width: custom-size;}

Answer 6

table{table-layout: auto;}
td:first-of-type{width: custom-size;}

The form's label occupies excessive space beyond what is necessary

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

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