What is the best way to enable flex-items to expand without changing their original size?

Question

What is the best way to enable flex-items to expand without changing their original size?

Using Flexbox can really enhance the design capabilities of a web designer. However, figuring out exactly how to achieve certain layouts can sometimes be tricky. For instance, consider this plunk. I want the items to expand within each row without stretching across the entire width in the last row.
In my CSS, I have included the following key code:

.recipe-picker recipe {
    -webkit-flex: 0 1 8em;
    flex: 0 1 8em;
    
    height: 12em;
}

If I modify the 0 to a positive number (representing the flex-grow property), the last row of items distorts in an unattractive manner. While the other item rows act appropriately, the final row should maintain the same size as the others.
How can I resolve this issue and achieve the desired layout?

css flexbox

Answer 1

Answer №1

Currently, CSS Flexbox does not have the capability to express a certain requirement. A recent inquiry on the CSS Working Group Mailing List highlighted this limitation and received a response indicating that it is not possible at the moment but is a priority for Flexbox 2.

However, one could potentially achieve a similar effect using the `max-width` property to control the growth of flex items, especially those on the last line. I have provided a modified version of your code snippet with a non-zero flex-grow value and `max-width: 10em` applied. You can view it here.

(The choice of `10em` was arbitrary; alternatively, you could use `max-width: calc(100%/5)` to ensure each flex item occupies no more than 1/5 of the line length.)

Answer 2

Currently, CSS Flexbox does not have the capability to express a certain requirement. A recent inquiry on the CSS Working Group Mailing List highlighted this limitation and received a response indicating that it is not possible at the moment but is a priority for Flexbox 2.

However, one could potentially achieve a similar effect using the `max-width` property to control the growth of flex items, especially those on the last line. I have provided a modified version of your code snippet with a non-zero flex-grow value and `max-width: 10em` applied. You can view it here.

(The choice of `10em` was arbitrary; alternatively, you could use `max-width: calc(100%/5)` to ensure each flex item occupies no more than 1/5 of the line length.)

Answer 3

Answer №2

With a simple adjustment to the flex-shrink property, I was able to achieve the desired result.

.recipe-selector option {
flex: 0 0 9em;
}

When it comes to flex-grow and flex-shrink, I like to think of them as providing "permission to expand". If either property has a value assigned to it, that means the element is allowed to grow. When all elements have the same flex-grow value, they will expand uniformly. The same principle applies when using flex-shrink values for all elements.

Check out this link for more details.

Answer 4

With a simple adjustment to the flex-shrink property, I was able to achieve the desired result.

.recipe-selector option {
flex: 0 0 9em;
}

When it comes to flex-grow and flex-shrink, I like to think of them as providing "permission to expand". If either property has a value assigned to it, that means the element is allowed to grow. When all elements have the same flex-grow value, they will expand uniformly. The same principle applies when using flex-shrink values for all elements.

Check out this link for more details.

Answer 5

Answer №3

Encountering a similar issue, I was able to discover an effective solution to address the limitations of flexbox.

Since this problem has already been discussed in another post found here, I will refrain from repeating my solution. Instead, I encourage those who have stumbled upon this page to refer to the following link:

How to maintain consistent width for flexbox items on consecutive rows?

Answer 6

Encountering a similar issue, I was able to discover an effective solution to address the limitations of flexbox.

Since this problem has already been discussed in another post found here, I will refrain from repeating my solution. Instead, I encourage those who have stumbled upon this page to refer to the following link:

How to maintain consistent width for flexbox items on consecutive rows?

What is the best way to enable flex-items to expand without changing their original size?

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

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