Re: Center DIV

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Moschini" <Chris.Moschini@amdocs.com>
Subject: RE: Center DIV


> Why must centering relative to the viewport be so obscure?


A web document, in the visual sense, is supposed to be regarded as
continuous visual media. As such, the concept of a vertical center really
doesn't work in the way you would instinctively think. CSS-P does provide a
mechanism for orienting elements with respect to the viewport in the rule
position:fixed, but many of the current visual user agents (especially
Internet Explorer) lack proper support. This is not a fault of the CSS
specification, it is a fault of the browser vendors.

With paged media, however, the phyiscal dimensions of the viewport (paper)
are known, so manipulating the position of elements is much easier.

I use the following declaration block for centering a div:-

div {
    position: absolute;
    top: 50%;
    left: 50%;
    width: 10em;
    height: 10em;
    margin-top: -5em;
    margin-left: -5em;
}

The only drawback is that the height and width must be explicitly declared
in relation to the top and left margins.

Simon Jessey

w: http://jessey.net/blog/
e: simon@jessey.net

Received on Thursday, 3 July 2003 12:18:38 UTC