column-width
The column-width
CSS property sets the ideal column width in a multi-column layout. The container will have as many columns as can fit without any of them having a width less than the column-width
value. If the width of the container is narrower than the specified value, the single column's width will be smaller than the declared column width.
Try it
This property can help you create responsive designs that fit different screen sizes. Especially in the presence of the column-count
property (which has precedence), you must specify all related length values to achieve an exact column width. In horizontal text these are width
, column-width
, column-gap
, and column-rule-width
.
Syntax
css
/* Keyword value */
column-width: auto;
/* <length> values */
column-width: 60px;
column-width: 15.5em;
column-width: 3.3vw;
/* Global values */
column-width: inherit;
column-width: initial;
column-width: revert;
column-width: revert-layer;
column-width: unset;
The column-width
property is specified as one of the values listed below.
Values
<length>
-
Indicates the optimal column width. The actual column width may differ from the specified value: it may be wider when necessary to fill available space, and narrower when the available space is too small. The value must be strictly positive or the declaration is invalid. Percentage values are also invalid.
auto
-
The width of the column is determined by other CSS properties, such as
column-count
.
Formal definition
Initial value | auto |
---|---|
Applies to | Block containers except table wrapper boxes |
Inherited | no |
Computed value | the absolute length, zero or larger |
Animation type | a length |
Formal syntax
column-width =
auto |
<length [0,∞]> |
min-content |
max-content |
fit-content( <length-percentage> )
<length-percentage> =
<length> |
<percentage>
Examples
Setting column width in pixels
HTML
html
<p class="content-box">
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy
nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis
nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
</p>
CSS
css
.content-box {
column-width: 100px;
}
Result
Specifications
Specification |
---|
CSS Box Sizing Module Level 3 # column-sizing |
CSS Multi-column Layout Module Level 1 # cw |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
- Multiple-column Layout (Learn Layout)
- Basic Concepts of Multicol