Tips for aligning two divs side by side: Ensure one of the divs is centered within the container that holds both divs

How would you align two divs next to each other, with one of them centered within the container?

I'm trying to figure out how to position the second div right beside the first one and have it expand to the right. Any ideas?

Check out this example :

http://jsfiddle.net/Dpcq4/3/

Here's the HTML:

<div id="container" >
    <div id="div1"> </div>
    <div id="div2"></div>
</div>

And here's the CSS:

  #container{ width: 100%;
              display:inline;
              height:60px;
              color:#000;
    }
    #div1{ margin-left:auto;
           margin-right:auto;
           width:200px;
           height:50px;
           background-color:#333;
    }
    #div2{ float:right;
           width:100%;
           height:50px;
           background-color:#ccc;
    }

Thank you!

Answer №1

Take a look at this: http://jsfiddle.net/GTduj/2/

#container{ 
    width: 600px; 
    height:60px; 
    border:1px solid #bbb;
    text-align:center;
}

To center the contents of your container element, you need to set a fixed width.

#div1{        
    width:60%;
    display:inline-block;
    height:50px;     
    background-color:#333; 
}

For div1, you can use either a % width or a fixed width, but it must be inline-block.

#div2{        
    display:inline-block;
     width:10%; 
    height:50px; 
    background-color:#ccc; 
    margin-right:0;    
    position:absolute;    
}

Make sure to use inline-block and absolute position for div2 so that it extends beyond the centered div1.

Answer №2

Aligning a div in the center of another div using margin: auto means that it will take up the full width of the containing div. To achieve this, place div1 inside another div with a specified width and then float div1 within it.

<div id="wrapper">
  <div class="container">
    <div id="div1"> </div>
  </div>
  <div id="div2"></div>
</div>

.container{
  width: y%;
  float: left;
}

#div2{
  float: left;
}

Answer №3

If you want to eliminate white space on the left side, it's necessary to delete margin-left:auto; and margin-right:auto; from #div1. You also have to adjust the width of #div2.

You can try something like this:

#div1{
    width:200px; 
    height:50px; 
    background-color:#333; 
    float:left;
}
#div2{
    width:75%; 
    height:50px; 
    background-color:#ccc; 
    margin-right:0; 
    float:left;
}

However, if you prefer a fluid layout, consider changing the width of #div1 to a percentage as well. For example, width:25%;; If you want to include white space to the left of the two divs, you will need to add another div to the left to serve as a column.

http://jsfiddle.net/Dpcq4/12/

Answer №4

Here are a couple of methods I'm familiar with for achieving this task. It's possible that there is an even more effective approach out there waiting to be discovered.

One way is by explicitly setting the widths in your CSS code as shown below:

#wrapper{ 
    width: 700px; 
    height:80px; 
    color:#333;
}
#box1{
    float: left;
    width:250px; 
    height:60px; 
    background-color:#666; 
    margin-left: 200px;
}
#box2{
    float:left; 
    width:250px; 
    height:60px; 
    background-color:#999; 
    margin-right:0;
}

If manual adjustment is not feasible, which is highly likely, an alternative method involves using JavaScript. The example below utilizes jQuery:

var wrapper = $('#wrapper');
var box1 = $('#box1');

box1.css('margin-left', wrapper.width()/2 - box1.width());

http://jsfiddle.net/Hj34k/6/

Answer №5

My technique is compatible with IE8 and newer versions, as well as all other web browsers, and relies solely on CSS.
Utilizing display:table followed by display:table-cell for its children ensures that the two elements remain in the same table row.

#container{ 
   width: 100%; 
   display:table; 
   height:60px; 
   color:#000;
}
#div1{
   margin-left:auto; 
   margin-right:auto; 
   width:200px; 
   height:50px; 
   background-color:#333;
   display:table-cell; 
}
#div2{
   display:table-cell;
   height:50px; 
   background-color:#ccc; 
   margin-right:0;
   float:left;
   width:100%; 
}

http://jsfiddle.net/Dpcq4/13/

Answer №6

To ensure that your div1 aligns correctly with div2, make sure their combined widths do not exceed the width of the screen:

width(div1) + width(div2) <= width(Screen)

To allocate the remaining space to div2, assign percentage widths to both divs - give div1 30% width and div2 70% width.

Take a look at this example.

Update:

If you want div1 to always be centered within the #container, apply left:50% to it and adjust div2 accordingly.

For more details, check out this demo.

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