CSS Positioning
Positioning can be tricky sometimes!
Decide which element to display in front!
Elements can overlap!
Positioning
The CSS positioning properties allow you to position an element. It can also place an element behind another, and specify what should happen when an element's content
is too big.
Elements can be positioned using the top, bottom, left, and right properties.
However, these properties will not work unless the position property is set
first.
They also work differently depending on the positioning method.
There are four different positioning methods.
Static Positioning
HTML elements are positioned static by default. A static positioned element
is always positioned according to the normal flow of the page.
Static positioned elements are not affected by the top, bottom, left, and
right properties.
Fixed Positioning
An element with fixed position is positioned relative to the browser window.
It will not move even if the window is scrolled:
Example
p.pos_fixed
{
position:fixed;
top:30px;
right:5px;
} |
View it » |
Note: Internet Explorer supports the fixed value only if a !DOCTYPE is
specified.
Fixed positioned elements are removed from the normal flow. The
document and other elements behave like the fixed positioned element does not
exist.
Fixed positioned elements
can overlap other elements.
Relative Positioning
A relative positioned element is positioned relative to its normal position.
Example
h2.pos_left
{
position:relative;
left:-20px;
}
h2.pos_right
{
position:relative;
left:20px;
} |
View it » |
The content of a relatively positioned elements
can be moved and overlap other elements, but the reserved space for the element
is still preserved in the normal flow.
Example
h2.pos_top
{
position:relative;
top:-50px;
} |
View it » |
Relatively positioned element are often used as container blocks for
absolutely positioned elements.
Absolute Positioning
An absolute position element is positioned relative to the first parent element that has a position other
than static. If no such element is found, the containing block is <html>:
Example
h2
{
position:absolute;
left:100px;
top:150px;
} |
View it » |
Absolutely positioned elements are removed from the normal flow. The
document and other elements behave like the absolutely positioned element does not
exist.
Absolutely positioned elements
can overlap other elements.
Overlapping Elements
When elements are positioned outside the normal flow, they can
overlap other elements.
The z-index property specifies the stack order of an element (which element should be placed
in front of, or behind, the others).
An element can have a positive or negative stack order:
Example
img
{
position:absolute;
left:0px;
top:0px;
z-index:-1
} |
View it » |
An element with greater stack order is always in front of an element with a lower stack order.
 |
More Examples |
Set the shape of an element
This example demonstrates how to set the shape of an element. The element is
clipped into this shape, and displayed.
How to show
overflow in an element using scroll
This example demonstrates how to set the overflow property to create a scroll
bar when an element's content
is too big to fit in a specified area.
How to
set the browser to automatically handle overflow
This example demonstrates how to set the browser to automatically handle
overflow.
Change the cursor
This example demonstrates how to change the cursor.
All CSS Positioning Properties
The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version
the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2).
| Property |
Description |
Values |
CSS |
| bottom |
Sets the bottom margin edge for a positioned box |
auto
length
%
inherit |
2 |
| clip |
Clips an absolutely positioned element |
shape
auto
inherit |
2 |
| cursor |
Specifies the type of cursor to be displayed |
url
auto
crosshair
default
pointer
move
e-resize
ne-resize
nw-resize
n-resize
se-resize
sw-resize
s-resize
w-resize
text
wait
help |
2 |
| left |
Sets the left margin edge for a positioned box |
auto
length
%
inherit |
2 |
overflow
|
Specifies what happens if content overflows an element's
box |
auto
hidden
scroll
visible
inherit |
2 |
| position |
Specifies the type of positioning for an element |
absolute
fixed
relative
static
inherit |
2 |
| right |
Sets the right margin edge for a positioned box |
auto
length
%
inherit |
2 |
| top |
Sets the top margin edge for a positioned box |
auto
length
%
inherit |
2 |
| z-index |
Sets the stack order of an element |
number
auto
inherit |
2 |
| 
