[Bug 17152] New: Support centering an element when scrolling into view.

https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=17152

           Summary: Support centering an element when scrolling into view.
           Product: CSS
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: All
        OS/Version: All
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: CSSOM View
        AssignedTo: dave.null@w3.org
        ReportedBy: thaddee.tyl@gmail.com
         QAContact: public-css-bugzilla@w3.org


The main reason why we might use `scrollIntoView()` is to bring an
element into the viewport.

However, showing that element at the top or at the bottom of the
viewport is detrimental to understanding the context in which this
element is. As a result, what authors really want is to center
the element.

I know we are implementing that in JS again and again throughout Firefox,
and web developers are, too.


Webkit has a method called
`void scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(optional boolean center);`,
which scrolls the page so that an element, if not completely shown,
becomes completely shown, and appears vertically centered in the viewport
if the boolean is true.

The reason I bring this method up is to highlight its bad design.

1. Boolean flags are unreadable: it is unclear from reading
   `scrollIntoViewIfNeeded(false)` what that `false` means, and even if
   we know that it is about centering the element, which one, of `true`
   and `false`, does indeed center the element.

2. We already have `void scrollIntoView(optional boolean top)`.
   Having many methods whose intents are collinear is wrong.
   Different methods should have orthogonal goals.

I therefore suggest the following addition:

    partial interface Element {
      void scrollIntoView(ScrollPosition options);
    };

    dictionary ScrollPosition {
      float top = 0.5;
      float left = 0.0;
      boolean notIfViewed = true;
    };

where `top` and `left` are meant as percentages of
`max(0, scrollY - element.clientHeight)` and
`max(0, scrollX - element.clientWidth)` respectively.

If `notIfViewed` is true, and the element is completely in the viewport,
then this method does nothing.
If `notIfViewed` is true, and the element is partially hidden,
then scroll just enough so that the element appears completely
in the viewport.

In all other cases, scroll so that the element is positioned at
`options.top * max(0, scrollY - element.clientHeight)` with respect
to the top border edge, and at
`options.left * max(0, scrollX - element.clientWidth)` with respect
to the left border edge.

Overloading of `scrollIntoView` happens
as described at <http://www.w3.org/TR/WebIDL/#idl-overloading>.

An intended effect of this design is that calling
`element.scrollIntoView({});` automatically does the right thing and
centers the element on the screen, while you can still get the
old behavior by calling `element.scrollIntoView()`.

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Received on Tuesday, 22 May 2012 21:47:49 UTC