The float
CSS property places an element on the left or right side of its container, allowing text and inline elements to wrap around it. The element is removed from the normal flow of the page, though still remaining a part of the flow (in contrast to absolute positioning).
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A floating element is one where the computed value of float
is not none
.
As float
implies the use of the block layout, it modifies the computed value of the display
values, in some cases:
Specified value | Computed value |
---|---|
inline |
block |
inline-block |
block |
inline-table |
table |
table-row |
block |
table-row-group |
block |
table-column |
block |
table-column-group |
block |
table-cell |
block |
table-caption |
block |
table-header-group |
block |
table-footer-group |
block |
inline-flex |
flex |
inline-grid |
grid |
other | unchanged |
HTMLElement.style
object, modern browsers support float
, but in older browsers you have to spell it as cssFloat
, with Internet Explorer versions 8 and older using styleFloat
. This was an exception to the rule, that the name of the DOM member is the camel-case name of the dash-separated CSS name (due to the fact that "float" is a reserved word in JavaScript, as seen in the need to escape "class" as "className" and escape <label>'s "for" as "htmlFor").Syntax
/* Keyword values */ float: left; float: right; float: none; float: inline-start; float: inline-end; /* Global values */ float: inherit; float: initial; float: unset;
The float
property is specified as a single keyword, chosen from the list of values below.
Values
left
- The element must float on the left side of its containing block.
right
- The element must float on the right side of its containing block.
none
- The element must not float.
inline-start
- The element must float on the start side of its containing block. That is the left side with
ltr
scripts, and the right side withrtl
scripts. inline-end
- The element must float on the end side of its containing block. That is the right side with
ltr
scripts, and the left side withrtl
scripts.
Formal definition
Initial value | none |
---|---|
Applies to | all elements, but has no effect if the value of display is none . |
Inherited | no |
Computed value | as specified |
Animation type | discrete |
Formal syntax
left | right | none | inline-start | inline-end
Examples
How floated elements are positioned
As mentioned above, when an element is floated, it is taken out of the normal flow of the document (though still remaining part of it). It is shifted to the left, or right, until it touches the edge of its containing box, or another floated element.
In this example, there are three colored squares. Two are floated left, and one is floated right. Note that the second "left" square is placed to the right of the first. Additional squares would continue to stack to the right, until they filled the containing box, after which they would wrap to the next line.
A floated element is at least as tall as it's tallest nested floated children. We gave the parent width: 100%
and floated it to ensure it is tall enough to encompass it's floated children, and to make sure it takes up the width of the parent so we don't have to clear it's adjacent sibling.
HTML
<section> <div class="left">1</div> <div class="left">2</div> <div class="right">3</div> <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi tristique sapien ac erat tincidunt, sit amet dignissim lectus vulputate. Donec id iaculis velit. Aliquam vel malesuada erat. Praesent non magna ac massa aliquet tincidunt vel in massa. Phasellus feugiat est vel leo finibus congue.</p> </section>
CSS
section { border: 1px solid blue; width: 100%; float: left; } div { margin: 5px; width: 50px; height: 150px; } .left { float: left; background: pink; } .right { float: right; background: cyan; }
Result
Clearing floats
Sometimes you may want to force an item to move below any floated elements. For instance, you may want paragraphs to remain adjacent to floats, but force headings to be on their own line. See clear
for examples.
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
CSS Logical Properties and Values Level 1 The definition of 'float and clear' in that specification. |
Editor's Draft | Adds the values inline-start and inline-end . |
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'float' in that specification. |
Recommendation | No change |
CSS Level 1 The definition of 'float' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition |
Browser compatibility
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
float | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 1 | IE Full support 4 | Opera Full support 7 | Safari Full support 1 | WebView Android Full support 1 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support 10.1 | Safari iOS Full support 1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
Flow-relative values inline-start and inline-end | Chrome No support No | Edge No support No | Firefox Full support 55 | IE No support No | Opera No support No | Safari No support No | WebView Android No support No | Chrome Android No support No | Firefox Android Full support 55 | Opera Android No support No | Safari iOS No support No | Samsung Internet Android No support No |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- No support
- No support
See also
- Block formatting context
- Use
clear
to force an item to move below a floated element.