How to make input field change size without pushing text to next line?
enter image description here
Easiest way is going to be using display: flex, for more details read Basic concepts of flexbox on MDN.
Getting the labels the right width will require a bit of tweaking on your part, I've used .fieldGroup label { width: 10vw } as a loose value. Best is to use a pixel (px) value which will very much depend on the font family and size
/* BASIC RESET - not relvant to answer */ body { font: 16px sans-serif; margin: 0 }
.fieldGroup {
align-items: center;
display: flex;
gap: 1rem;
}
.fieldGroup:not(:last-of-type) { margin-bottom: 1rem }
.fieldGroup label { width: 10vw }
.fieldGroup input { flex-grow: 1 }
<form style="padding: 2rem">
<div class="fieldGroup">
<label>Name</label>
<input type="text" placeholder="Enter your name…">
</div>
<div class="fieldGroup">
<label>E-mail</label>
<input type="email" placeholder="Enter your e-mail…">
</div>
<div class="fieldGroup">
<label>Really long label here to easily test wrapping</label>
<input type="text" placeholder="???">
</div>
</form>
Use display: flex in CSS
.container {
width: 100px;
}
.flex {
display: flex;
align-items: center;
gap: 5px;
}
<div class="container">
<b>With Flex:</b>
<div class="flex">
<label>Name</label>
<input />
</div>
<br />
<b>Without Flex:</b>
<div>
<label>Name</label>
<input />
</div>
</div>
I'm trying to create two css container classes that can be used to:
Vertically align form elements using .group.
Horizontally align form elements using .group.group--inline.
Each for element will use the class .group__item to make sure there's 16px vertical and horizontal distance between the form elements. For example:
.group__item { margin-top: 16px; }
I however want to sure that the entire height and width of the .group can be used for the form elements and that there is no unwanted whitespace. Not having any margin around our components makes it easier to properly layout them.
To negate the margin on the .group__item's I'm adding it as negative margin to the .group and .group--inline. For example:
.group { margin-top: -16px; }
I'm wondering if there are any negative side effects to giving the .group container a negative margin?
function toggleGroupBorder() {
var groups = document.querySelectorAll('.group');
for (var i = 0, j = groups.length; i < j; i++) {
groups[i].classList.toggle('group--show-border');
}
}
.container {
margin: 32px;
padding: 32px;
border: 1px solid #99f;
}
.group {
margin-top: -16px;
}
.group.group--show-border {
border: 1px solid #f99;
}
.group .group__item {
display: block;
margin-top: 16px;
}
.group.group--inline {
margin-left: -16px;
}
.group.group--inline .group__item {
margin-left: 16px;
display: inline-block;
}
* {
box-sizing: border-box;
}
body {
font-family: Helvetica, Arial;
margin: 0;
}
input {
height: 32px;
padding: 0 8px;
}
button {
height: 32px;
padding: 0 24px;
border: none;
}
<button onclick="toggleGroupBorder();">Toggle Group Border</button>
<h2>Vertical field alignment using <code>.group</code></h2>
<div class="container">
<div class="group">
<input class="group__item" type="text" />
<input class="group__item" type="text" />
<button class="group__item" >Default</button>
</div>
</div>
<h2>Horizontal field alignment using <code>.group.group-inline</code></h2>
<div class="container">
<div class="group group--inline">
<input class="group__item" type="text" />
<input class="group__item" type="text" />
<button class="group__item" >Default</button>
<input class="group__item" type="text" />
<input class="group__item" type="text" />
<button class="group__item" >Default</button>
<input class="group__item" type="text" />
<input class="group__item" type="text" />
<input class="group__item" type="text" />
<button class="group__item" >Default</button>
</div>
</div>
Or see this CodePen
I am making a title bar for a table. It has to be contained inside a table row just because the rest of the page has been designed for a table (which I cannot change at this stage).
What I want to do is create a block inside the table row that contains some text, a few buttons (as images) and some input boxes and a dropdown selection option.
I've been playing round with divs and floating them which works well enough but the inputs and image buttons are not aligning nicely so I played with using spans instead which works kinda nicer but still not aligning as I need it to. It all needs to fit inside the blue bar and the small white gap between the the blue bar and the grey strip shouldn't be there...
Heres what it looks like at the moment...
Here is my code with the block using divs and its essentially the same with spans
<td colspan='8'> <-- this is the start of the table cell that i have to work inside
<div style="width: 100%; ">
<div class="tableHeadRow" style="float: left; background-color: #002b59; padding: 5px 5px 0px 5px; width: 678px;">
<form method='post' name='tranLookup'>
<input type='hidden' name='dates' value='range' />
<input type='hidden' name='op' value='viewTransactions' />
<span style="margin-right: 10px; color: #ffffff; ">Transaction History</span>
<div class="printerButtonWrapper flow" style="margin-right: 10px; display: inline-block;">
<a id="printButton" href="#toPrint">
<img src="images/accounts.png" alt="Printer View" class="clip printerButton" />
</a>
</div>
<div style="margin-right: 10px; display: inline-block;">
<input placeholder="From date: " type='text' id='fromDate' name='fromDate' class="textbox calText" style='width: 80px;' value="startDate">
<span style="color: #ffffff"> - </span>
<input placeholder="To date: " type='text' id='toDate' name='toDate' class="textbox calText" style='width: 80px;' value="endDate">
</div>
<div style="margin-right: 10px; display: inline-block; ">
<span style="color: #ffffff;">Transactions per page:</span>
<select name='qty' id="transactionQuantity">
<option value='10'>10</option>
<option value='25' selected="selected">25</option>
<option value='50'>50</option>
<option value='100'>100</option>
<option value='200'>200</option>
</select>
</div>
<div class="goWrapper flow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; ">
<a onclick='document.tranLookup.submit();'><img src='images/accounts.png' alt='Go' class='clip go' /></a>
</div>
</form>
</div>
<div class="blueCornerWrapper flow" style="float: right; display: inline-block; ">
<img src='images/common.png' alt='' class='clip blueCorner' />
</div>
<div style="clear: both;" ></div>
</div></td> <-- heres the end of the table cell
Frustratingly I had this all sorted once but I didn't commit code and I lost it all so now I am trying to get it back to its nice aligned state unfortunately it was a couple months ago now and I cant remember what I did...
Does anyone have some awesome mad skills to help me line these up nicely?
Let's get started by cleaning up your code.
Let's have a fiddle! http://jsfiddle.net/a3985/
Have a play with this. I gave the td a transactionSelection ID. There is no need for a div, the form will do. I have removed the img tags leaving just the links. You should have the images placed in your css like this for example:
#transactionSelection #goSubmit { background: url(image.jpg) no-repeat; }
HTML
<td colspan='8' id="transactionSelection">
<form method='post' name='tranLookup'>
<legend>Transaction History</legend>
<input type='hidden' name='dates' value='range' />
<input type='hidden' name='op' value='viewTransactions' />
<input placeholder="From date: " type='text' id='fromDate' name='fromDate' class="textbox calText" style='width: 80px;' value="startDate">
<input placeholder="To date: " type='text' id='toDate' name='toDate' class="textbox calText" style='width: 80px;' value="endDate">
<label for="transactionQuantity">Transactions per page:</label>
<select name='qty' id="transactionQuantity">
<option value='10'>10</option>
<option value='25' selected="selected">25</option>
<option value='50'>50</option>
<option value='100'>100</option>
<option value='200'>200</option>
</select>
<button onclick='document.tranLookup.submit();' id="goSubmit">Submit</button>
</form>
CSS - Place this in an external sheet if possible or in your head. Because you are dealing with legacy code I would recommend all css being restricted to #transactionSelection which is the id of the td.
#transactionSelection legend, #transactionSelection label, #transactionSelection select { margin: 2px 0 0; float: left; }
#transactionSelection input { float: left; margin: 2px 10px; }
#transactionSelection label { margin-right: 10px; }
#transactionSelection #printButton { display: block; float: left; height: 20px; width: 50px; padding: 2px; margin: 0 20px; background: #F00; }
#transactionSelection #goSubmit { display: block; float: left; height: 20px; width: 50px; padding: 2px; margin: 3px 20px; background: #F00; border: none; float: left; }
This is a good starting point if you would really like to clean this up.
Sam
Before I reveal a solution, I just want to say that it would make things way easier for you(and everyone else) if you wrote your css on a separate sheet. Also, it's best not to use tables anymore, but you probably already knew that ;)
What I did was I used display:inline-block; for the child elements, so that they are treated as text, and I used text-align:center; for the parent div. And to fix your alignment issues, I used vertical-align:middle;. I then gave the div with the blue background a greater height and now it looks good.
See for yourself.<----THIS IS THE FIDDLE
.tableHeadRow{
text-align:center;
height:30px;
}
span,.printerButtonWrapper,#printButton,.clip printButton,input .textbox calText,select #transactionQuantity,img {
display:inline-block;
vertical-align:middle;
}
I want to center the div box im making here but i dont want to center the text in the box and i cant seem to find how to do this. For now what i have is this:
.box {
text-align: left;
background-color:#3F48CC;
color:white;
font-weight:bold;
margin:120px auto;
height:150px;
display: inline-block;
width: 200px;
}
and
<div class=box>
Login
<form method ="post" action="addMember.php">
<label for="name">Username:</label>
<input name="name"/>
<label for="password">Password:</label>
<input name="password"/>
<p>
<input name="submit" type="Submit" value="Register"/>
<input name="reset" type="reset" value="Clear Form">
</form>
</div>
Thanks in advance!
Remove display: inline-block; & text-align:center
inline-block is not necessary when you are defining the width/height for the div.
By default div is a block element.
.box {
background-color:#3F48CC;
color:white;
font-weight:bold;
margin:120px auto;
height:150px;
width: 200px;
}
DEMO
Use dead centre...
.box {
text-align: left;
background-color:#3F48CC;
color:white;
font-weight:bold;
height:150px;
width: 200px;
position: absolute;
left: 50%;
top: 50%;
margin-left: -100px;
margin-top: -75px;
}
Note: Negative margins are exactly half the height and width, which pull the element back into perfect center. Only works with elements of a fixed height/width.
More info:
CSS Tricks Example
jsFiddle Demo
jsFiddle DEMO
Alternate jsFiddle DEMO with Centered Form and also this CSS3 Version.
The key to making the form look correct is to use padding, which is part of box model. Doing so allows you to fill in the sides, and keeps the text left-hand aligned.
HTML
<div class=box>Login
<form method="post" action="addMember.php">
<label for="name">Username:</label>
<input name="name" />
<label for="password">Password:</label>
<input name="password" />
<div class="buttons">
<input name="submit" type="Submit" value="Register" />
<input name="reset" type="reset" value="Clear Form" />
</div>
</form>
</div>
CSS:
.box {
background-color:#3F48CC;
color:white;
font-weight:bold;
height:150px;
width: 150px;
padding: 10px;
}
.buttons{
padding-top: 20px;
}
Screenshot:
How to position a complex form with multiple fields in line across the screen?
Why are people so hell-bent on avoiding tables?
Tables are not deprecated and should be used when displaying content which logically belongs in a table.
If your form is logically grouped such that a table would be intuitive, please use a table.
Always be thinking: "What's the cleanest, simplest, most maintainable way to achieve this result."
If you want a fluid form with a variable number columns, then disregard this.
I prefer the slightly-more-semantic way, using a definition list:
<dl class="form">
<dt><label for="input1">One:</label></dt>
<dd><input type="text" name="input1" id="input1"></dd>
<dt><label for="input2">Two:</label></dt>
<dd><input type="text" name="input2" id="input2"></dd>
</dl>
Then your CSS:
dl.form {
width:100%;
float:left;
clear:both;
}
dl.form dt {
width:50%;
float:left;
clear:left;
text-align:right;
}
dl.form dd {
width:50%;
float:left;
clear:right;
text-align:left;
}
This should produce a form centered in the page, with the labels in the left column and the inputs in the right
There are many different ways to do this. It's all a matter of preference. What I typically do is have a wrapper div that contains all of the rows, and then a div block per row that contains the label, input, and validator. You can use the line-height CSS property to help you with vertical alignment. Example:
<div class="formWrapper">
<form>
<div class="formItem">
<label for="firstName">First Name:</label>
<input name="firstName" id="firstName" class="required" type="text" />
<span class="validator" style="display: none;">*</>
</div>
... <!-- Rinse repeat -->
</form>
</div>
<style type="text/css">
.formWrapper { width: 400px }
.formWrapper .formItem { line-height: 35px; height: 35px; }
.formWrapper label { width: 50px; }
.formWrapper input { width: 100px; border: 1px solid #000; }
.formWrapper .validator { padding-left: 10px; color: #FF0000; }
</style>
Hope that helps.
After looking at many many different solutions, I found the examples on this page (particularly the one from 'Fatal'?) some of the most helpful. But the extensive and tags did bother me a bit. So here is a little bit of a modification that some may like. Also, you find some sort of 'wrapper' or 'fieldset' style very necessary to keep the float from affecting other HTML. Refer to examples above.
<style>
.formcol{
float: left;
padding: 2px;
}
.formcol label {
font-weight: bold;
display:block;}
</style>
<div class="formcol">
<label for="org">organization</label>
<input type="text" id="org" size="24" name="org" />
</div>
<div class="formcol">
<label for="fax">fax</label>
<input type="text" id="fax" name="fax" size="2" />
</div>
<div class="formcol">
<label for="3">three</label>
<input type="text" id="3" name="3" />
<label for="4">four</label>
<input type="text" id="4" name="4" />
<label for="5">five</label>
<input type="text" id="5" name="5" />
</div>
<div class="formcol">
<label for="6">six</label>
<input type="text" id="6" name="6" />
</div>
That would be done using CSS by setting the "display" property to "inline" (since form elements are, by default, block level elements).
Do a search for "layouts without tables". Many sites describe formatting with CSS. Here is a simple intro: http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/css/article.php/3642151
I suggest you blueprint CSS framework. Have a quick look at the demo page.
This is what I usually use when I need to design pretty complex forms.
HTML:
<fieldset> <legend>Consent group</legend> <form> <fieldset class="nolegend"> <p><label><span>Title</span> <input type="text" name="title" size="40" value="" /></label></p> <p><label><span>Short name</span> <input type="text" name="sname" size="20" value="" /></label></p> <p><label><br /><input type="checkbox" name="approval"> This consent group requires approval</label></p> </fieldset> <fieldset class="nolegend"> <p><label><span>Data use limitations</span> <textarea name="dul" cols="64" rows="4"></textarea></label></p> </fieldset> <input type="submit" value="Submit" /> </form></fieldset>
CSS:
body, input, textarea, select { font: 1em Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;}input, textarea, select { font-size: .8em }fieldset,fieldset legend { background-color: #EEE;}fieldset { border: none; margin: 0; padding: 0 0 .5em .01em; top: 1.25em; position: relative; margin-bottom: 2em;}fieldset fieldset { margin: 0 0 1em 0;}fieldset legend { padding: .25em .5em 0 .5em; border-bottom: none; font-weight: bold; margin-top: -1.25em; position: relative; *left: -.5em; color: #666;}fieldset form,fieldset .fieldset { margin: 0; padding: 1em .5em 0 .5em; overflow: hidden;}fieldset.nolegend { position: static; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: transparent; padding: 0; overflow: hidden;}fieldset.nolegend p,fieldset.nolegend div { float: left; margin: 0 1em 0 0;}fieldset.nolegend p:last-child,fieldset.nolegend div:last-child { margin-right: 0;}fieldset.nolegend label>span { display: block;}fieldset.nolegend label span { _display: block;}
I omitted couple lines of CSS with Safari hacks. You can check out live version of this code.
Pace KyleFarris but I just had to give Ben S a vote for having the guts to mention tables. Just look at the variety of CSS solutions on this page and around the internet for a ridiculously simple problem. CSS may one day become a good solution, but for the time being replicating the simple row and column grid that the table tag provides is extremely complex. I have spent countless fruitless hours with this prejudice against tables for things like a form. Why do we do this to ourselves?
input fields, by default, are inline. Therefore, you can simply use line them up without Another option if you want them lined up correctly is as follows:
<div id="col1" style="float: left;>
<input type="text" name="field1" />
<br />
<input type="text" name="field3" />
</div>
<div id="col2" style="float: left;>
<input type="text" name="field2" />
<br />
<input type="text" name="field4" />
</div>
I prefer to use fieldset to group all elements and p for each form field.
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
fieldset {
width: 500px;
background-color: lightblue;
}
fieldset legend {
font-weight: bold;
}
fieldset p {
clear:both;
padding: 5px;
}
fieldset label {
text-align: left;
width: 100px;
float: left;
font-weight: bold;
}
fieldset .Validator {
color: red !important;
font-weight: bold;
}
</style>
<head>
<body>
<form>
<fieldset>
<legend>Data</legend>
<p>
<label for="firstName">First Name:</label>
<input name="firstName" id="firstName" class="required" type="text" />
<span class="Validator" style="display: none;">*</span>
</p>
<p>
<label for="lastName">Last Name:</label>
<input name="lastName" id="lastName" class="required" type="text" />
<span class="Validator">*</span>
</p>
</fieldset>
</form>
</body>
</html>