There is a slight misalignment when trying to horizontally center a character within a div

Question

There is a slight misalignment when trying to horizontally center a character within a div

I've experimented with various methods like using a px width or em widths. I've attempted nesting a span and trying different styles such as text-align:center or margin:0 auto.

I can manage to center either the R or the S, but struggling to get both of them centered using the same style. It's crucial for them to be centered in the same manner since the character is not fixed in this example.

Adjusting the font size sometimes shifts which item is centered. Zooming my browser to 300% makes them both appear centered, but that is not a practical solution. :)

<style>
div { margin-bottom:10px; }

span {
  display:inline-block;
  width:16px;
  border:1px solid #000;
  text-align:center;
  margin-left:20px;
}

.example2 span {
  border-radius:50%;
}
</style>
<div class="example1">
<span>R</span> <span>S</span>
</div>

<div class="example2">
<span>R</span> <span>S</span>
</div>

http://codepen.io/anon/pen/NrqJLX

https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZlnA7.png

The 'S' seems to be slightly off to the right by 1 pixel.

Although I've come across many similar stackoverflow questions, none quite match my specific issue. Apologies if this has been previously addressed.

css

Answer 1

Answer №1

Aside from the size of the glyphs, a dilemma arises in this scenario where the space between the rectangle and the circle is 16px and 14px respectively, and the width of the "S" visually appears as 7px. This leaves no room for it to be positioned at a half pixel's position, requiring it to be either 1px to the right or left.

This issue persists regardless of whether you use a monospaced font or not. Some letters' visual width (or height) minus the available space divided by 2 may not always result in an even distribution of space on both sides, potentially causing the letter to appear 1 pixel off center to the left or right (top or bottom).

In my opinion, utilizing flexbox would effectively centralize the elements. I suggest replacing display: inline-block with the following code snippet:

display: inline-flex;      /* used inline-flex to keep the span side-by-side */
justify-content: center;   /* horizontal alignment when using row direction */
align-items: center;       /* vertical alignment                 -  "  -           */

Here is a sample snippet demonstrating the implementation:

div {
  margin-bottom:10px; 
}

span {
  display: inline-flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  width:16px;
  border:1px solid #000;
  margin-left:20px;
}

.example2 span {
  border-radius:50%;
}

<div class="example1">
<span>R</span> <span>S</span>
</div>

<div class="example2">
<span>R</span> <span>S</span>
</div>

Answer 2

Aside from the size of the glyphs, a dilemma arises in this scenario where the space between the rectangle and the circle is 16px and 14px respectively, and the width of the "S" visually appears as 7px. This leaves no room for it to be positioned at a half pixel's position, requiring it to be either 1px to the right or left.

This issue persists regardless of whether you use a monospaced font or not. Some letters' visual width (or height) minus the available space divided by 2 may not always result in an even distribution of space on both sides, potentially causing the letter to appear 1 pixel off center to the left or right (top or bottom).

In my opinion, utilizing flexbox would effectively centralize the elements. I suggest replacing display: inline-block with the following code snippet:

display: inline-flex;      /* used inline-flex to keep the span side-by-side */
justify-content: center;   /* horizontal alignment when using row direction */
align-items: center;       /* vertical alignment                 -  "  -           */

Here is a sample snippet demonstrating the implementation:

div {
  margin-bottom:10px; 
}

span {
  display: inline-flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  width:16px;
  border:1px solid #000;
  margin-left:20px;
}

.example2 span {
  border-radius:50%;
}

<div class="example1">
<span>R</span> <span>S</span>
</div>

<div class="example2">
<span>R</span> <span>S</span>
</div>

Answer 3

Answer №2

The answer is quite simple - the center of a character may not be where you expect it to be. Character glyphs vary in width, especially in "normal" fonts and typefaces.

In non-monospace or sans-serif fonts, factors like ascenders, descenders, and serifs can impact the dimensions of the character glyphs.

To achieve greater accuracy, consider setting the width/height/line-height in em. If absolute pixel precision is crucial to you, manual adjustments might be necessary.

div {
  margin-bottom: 10px;
  display: inline-block;
  vertical-align: top;
}
span {
  display: inline-block;
  width: 1em;
  height: 1em;
  font-size: 144px;
  line-height: 1em;
  border: 1px solid #000;
  text-align: center;
  margin-left: 20px;
}
.example2 span {
  border-radius: 50%;
}
.other {
  font-family: monospace
}

<div class="example2">
  <span>R</span>  <span>S</span>
</div>

<div class="example2 other">
  <span>R</span>  <span>S</span>
</div>

Answer 4

The answer is quite simple - the center of a character may not be where you expect it to be. Character glyphs vary in width, especially in "normal" fonts and typefaces.

In non-monospace or sans-serif fonts, factors like ascenders, descenders, and serifs can impact the dimensions of the character glyphs.

To achieve greater accuracy, consider setting the width/height/line-height in em. If absolute pixel precision is crucial to you, manual adjustments might be necessary.

div {
  margin-bottom: 10px;
  display: inline-block;
  vertical-align: top;
}
span {
  display: inline-block;
  width: 1em;
  height: 1em;
  font-size: 144px;
  line-height: 1em;
  border: 1px solid #000;
  text-align: center;
  margin-left: 20px;
}
.example2 span {
  border-radius: 50%;
}
.other {
  font-family: monospace
}

<div class="example2">
  <span>R</span>  <span>S</span>
</div>

<div class="example2 other">
  <span>R</span>  <span>S</span>
</div>

There is a slight misalignment when trying to horizontally center a character within a div

Answer №1

Answer №2

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