How do I keep CSS floats in one line?

user_2908 0
Viewed 146329

I want to have two items on the same line using float: left for the item on the left.

I have no problems achieving this alone. The problem is, I want the two items to stay on the same line even when you resize the browser very small. You know... like how it was with tables.

The goal is to keep the item on the right from wrapping no matter what.

How to I tell the browser using CSS that I would rather stretch the containing div than wrap it so the the float: right; div is below the float: left; div?

what I want:

                                   \
 +---------------+  +------------------------/
 | float: left;  |  | float: right;          \
 |               |  |                        /
 |               |  |content stretching      \   Screen Edge
 |               |  |the div off the screen  /  <---
 +---------------+  +------------------------\
                                             /
stretching css-float css-tables css
10 Answers

Another option is, instead of floating, to set the white-space property nowrap to a parent div:

.parent {
     white-space: nowrap;
}

and reset the white-space and use an inline-block display so the divs stay on the same line but you can still give it a width.

.child {
    display:inline-block;
    width:300px;
    white-space: normal;
}

Here is a JSFiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/9g8ud31o/

user_13082750

Wrap your floating <div>s in a container <div> that uses this cross-browser min-width hack:

.minwidth { min-width:100px; width: auto !important; width: 100px; }

You may also need to set "overflow" but probably not.

This works because:

  • The !important declaration, combined with min-width cause everything to stay on the same line in IE7+
  • IE6 does not implement min-width, but it has a bug such that width: 100px overrides the !important declaration, causing the container width to be 100px.
Eric_Wendelin_250660

Solution 1:

display:table-cell (not widely supported)

Solution 2:

tables

(I hate hacks.)

user_282070

Another option: Do not float your right column; just give it a left margin to move it beyond the float. You'll need a hack or two to fix IE6, but that's the basic idea.

user_37790

Are you sure that floated block-level elements are the best solution to this problem?

Often with CSS difficulties in my experience it turns out that the reason I can't see a way of doing the thing I want is that I have got caught in a tunnel-vision with regard to my markup ( thinking "how can I make these elements do this?" ) rather than going back and looking at what exactly it is I need to achieve and maybe reworking my html slightly to facilitate that.

user_153940
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