CSS Horizontal Align
In CSS, several properties are used to align elements horizontally.
Aligning Block Elements
A block element is an element that takes up the full width available, and has a line break before and after it.
Examples of block elements:
- <h1>
- <p>
- <div>
For aligning text, see the CSS Text chapter.
In this chapter we will show you how to horizontally align block elements for layout purposes.
Center Aligning Using the margin Property
Block elements can be aligned by setting the left and right margins to "auto".
Note: Using margin:auto will not work in IE8 and earlier, unless a !DOCTYPE is declared.
Setting the left and right margins to auto specifies that they should split the available margin equally. The result is a centered element:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
.center
{
margin:auto;
width:70%;
background-color:#b0e0e6;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="center">
<p>In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.</p>
<p>'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'</p>
</div>
<p><b>Note: </b>Using margin:auto will not work in IE8, unless a !DOCTYPE is declared.</p>
</body>
</html>
Try it yourself in Notepad or Dreamweaver by coping and pasting the code above.
Result:
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.
'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'
'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'
Note: Using margin:auto will not work in IE8, unless a !DOCTYPE is declared.
Tip: Aligning has no effect if the width is 100%.
Note: In IE5 there is a margin handling bug for block elements. To make the example above work in IE5, add some extra code. Try it yourself
Example:
<head>
<style type="text/css">
.container
{
text-align:center;
}
.center
{
margin-left:auto;
margin-right:auto;
width:70%;
background-color:#b0e0e6;
text-align:left;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container">
<div class="center">
<p>In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.</p>
<p>'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'</p>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Note:</b> In IE5 there is a margin handling bug for block elements. Block elements are sometimes treated as inline content. This is particularly problematic when it comes to centering.
For centering to work in IE5, use the text-align property, like in this example.</p>
</body>
</html>
Try it yourself in Notepad or Dreamweaver by coping and pasting the code above.
Result:
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.
'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'
'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'
Left and Right Aligning Using the position Property
One method of aligning elements is to use absolute positioning:
Example
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
.right
{
position:absolute;
right:0px;
width:300px;
background-color:#b0e0e6;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="right">
<p>In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.</p>
<p>'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Try it yourself in Notepad or Dreamweaver by coping and pasting the code above.
Result:
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. 'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'
Note: Absolute positioned elements are removed from the normal flow, and can overlap elements.
Cross browser Compatibility Issues
When aligning elements like this, it is always a good idea to predefine margin and padding for the <body> element. This is to avoid visual differences in different browsers. There is a problem with IE8 and earlier, when using the position property. If a container element (in our case <div class="container">) has a specified width, and the !DOCTYPE declaration is missing, IE8 and earlier versions will add a 17px margin on the right side. This seems to be space reserved for a scrollbar. Always set the !DOCTYPE declaration when using the position property:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
body
{
margin:0;
padding:0;
}
.container
{
position:relative;
width:100%;
}
.right
{
position:absolute;
right:0px;
width:300px;
background-color:#b0e0e6;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container">
<div class="right">
<p><b>Note: </b>When aligning using the position property, always include the !DOCTYPE declaration! If missing, it can produce strange results in IE browsers.</p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Try it yourself in Notepad or Dreamweaver by coping and pasting the code above.
Left and Right Aligning Using the float Property
One method of aligning elements is to use the float property:
Example
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
.right
{
float:right;
width:300px;
background-color:#b0e0e6;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="right">
<p>In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.</p>
<p>'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Try it yourself in Notepad or Dreamweaver by coping and pasting the code above.
Result:
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. 'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'
Crossbrowser Compatibility Issues
When aligning elements like this, it is always a good idea to predefine margin and padding for the <body> element. This is to avoid visual differences in different browsers. There is a problem with IE8 and earlier when using the float property. If the !DOCTYPE declaration is missing, IE8 and earlier versions will add a 17px margin on the right side. This seems to be space reserved for a scrollbar. Always set the !DOCTYPE declaration when using the float property:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
body
{
margin:0;
padding:0;
}
.right
{
float:right;
width:300px;
background-color:#b0e0e6;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="right">
<p><b>Note: </b>When aligning using the float property, always include the !DOCTYPE declaration! If missing, it can produce strange results in IE browsers.</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Try it yourself in Notepad or Dreamweaver by coping and pasting the code above.
Note: When aligning using the float property, always include the !DOCTYPE declaration! If missing, it can produce strange results in IE browsers.
