What causes offsetHeight to be less than clientHeight?

Question

What causes offsetHeight to be less than clientHeight?

INFORMATION:

clientHeight: Retrieves the height of an element, taking into account padding

offsetHeight: Obtains the height of an element, considering padding, border, and scrollbar

Analyzing the Data:

The value returned by offsetHeight is expected to be greater than that of clientHeight. In other words, offsetHeight should exceed clientHeight.

NOW QUESTIONING:

Upon applying these two properties to the HTML tag, a result of 8 pixels is obtained for offsetHeight, while clientHeight reads as 778 pixels.

Why does this scenario occur? Is it not anticipated for offsetHeight to exceed clientHeight?

Could you explain the reason behind the discrepancy, where only 8 pixels are shown? What is the underlying cause?

Source Code Appears Below:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html id = "foo">
    <body>
        <script>
            var element = document.getElementById('foo');

            var osHeight = element.offsetHeight;
            var cHeight = element.clientHeight;

            document.write("Offset Height is " + osHeight + "<br/>");
            document.write("Client Height is " + cHeight);
        </script>
    </body>
</html>

Final Output Displayed:

Offset Height is 8
Client Height is 778

javascript html css

Answer 1

Answer №1

The special property of clientHeight is specifically for the html element, providing information on the height of the browser's client area excluding the horizontal scrollbar in any doctype.

In cases where no doctype is specified, the clientHeight property varies across different browsers when utilized with the html element.

Further information can be found here:

On the other hand, the unique offsetHeight property pertains to the html element as well.

It renders the height of the browser's client area sans the horizontal scrollbar in Internet Explorer, similar to the behavior observed with the clientHeight property of the html element.

However, in Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, and Safari, it discloses the overall height of the document.

For more details, visit:

When applying *{padding:0px;margin:0px;} in CSS, offsetHeight will yield a result of 0;

Explore this example further: http://jsfiddle.net/ufxt5Lzq/1/

Answer 2

The special property of clientHeight is specifically for the html element, providing information on the height of the browser's client area excluding the horizontal scrollbar in any doctype.

In cases where no doctype is specified, the clientHeight property varies across different browsers when utilized with the html element.

Further information can be found here:

On the other hand, the unique offsetHeight property pertains to the html element as well.

It renders the height of the browser's client area sans the horizontal scrollbar in Internet Explorer, similar to the behavior observed with the clientHeight property of the html element.

However, in Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, and Safari, it discloses the overall height of the document.

For more details, visit:

When applying *{padding:0px;margin:0px;} in CSS, offsetHeight will yield a result of 0;

Explore this example further: http://jsfiddle.net/ufxt5Lzq/1/

Answer 3

Answer №2

In this scenario, the client height refers to the size of the browser window. However, due to the absence of content in your HTML code, the offset height is limited to 8 units, representing the space occupied by the <html> tag.

Answer 4

In this scenario, the client height refers to the size of the browser window. However, due to the absence of content in your HTML code, the offset height is limited to 8 units, representing the space occupied by the <html> tag.

Answer 5

Answer №3

Could it possibly be related to a browser problem? These results were generated from Maxthon 4.4.3.2000 console after running the code located on this particular page.

Answer 6

Could it possibly be related to a browser problem? These results were generated from Maxthon 4.4.3.2000 console after running the code located on this particular page.

Answer 7

Answer №4

Several responses have pointed out that when you check the height of a plain HTML element without any styling, both clientHeight and offsetHeight will be the same. This is because the content added to the element is not rendered until after the document has been loaded and the heights are compared, leading to unexpected results.

You can test this behavior by visiting this JSFiddle link. In the example provided, an element with content and a border shows that offsetHeight is indeed greater than clientHeight.

If you need to determine an element's size, height, or width accurately, make sure to perform these measurements after manipulating the innerHTML. Otherwise, you'll get the original element size rather than the modified one.

CSS:

#foo {
    border: 3px solid #000;
    height: 24px;
    padding: 6px;
    margin: 6px;
    overflow: scroll;
}

HTML:

<div id="foo">
    Guess my height?<br />
    &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>
</div>

<div id="height"></div>

JS:

function writeLn(content) {
    document.getElementById('height').innerHTML += content + '<br />';
}

function showHeights() {
    var element = document.getElementById('foo');
    var osHeight = element.offsetHeight;
    var cHeight = element.clientHeight;

    writeLn('element.offsetHeight = ' + osHeight);
    writeLn('element.clientHeight = ' + cHeight);
}

showHeights();

Answer 8

Several responses have pointed out that when you check the height of a plain HTML element without any styling, both clientHeight and offsetHeight will be the same. This is because the content added to the element is not rendered until after the document has been loaded and the heights are compared, leading to unexpected results.

You can test this behavior by visiting this JSFiddle link. In the example provided, an element with content and a border shows that offsetHeight is indeed greater than clientHeight.

If you need to determine an element's size, height, or width accurately, make sure to perform these measurements after manipulating the innerHTML. Otherwise, you'll get the original element size rather than the modified one.

CSS:

#foo {
    border: 3px solid #000;
    height: 24px;
    padding: 6px;
    margin: 6px;
    overflow: scroll;
}

HTML:

<div id="foo">
    Guess my height?<br />
    &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>
</div>

<div id="height"></div>

JS:

function writeLn(content) {
    document.getElementById('height').innerHTML += content + '<br />';
}

function showHeights() {
    var element = document.getElementById('foo');
    var osHeight = element.offsetHeight;
    var cHeight = element.clientHeight;

    writeLn('element.offsetHeight = ' + osHeight);
    writeLn('element.clientHeight = ' + cHeight);
}

showHeights();

What causes offsetHeight to be less than clientHeight?

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

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