left
The left
CSS property participates in specifying the horizontal position of a positioned element. It has no effect on non-positioned elements.
Try it
Syntax
css
/* <length> values */
left: 3px;
left: 2.4em;
/* <percentage>s of the width of the containing block */
left: 10%;
/* Keyword value */
left: auto;
/* Global values */
left: inherit;
left: initial;
left: revert;
left: revert-layer;
left: unset;
Values
<length>
-
A negative, null, or positive
<length>
that represents:- for absolutely positioned elements, the distance to the left edge of the containing block.
- for relatively positioned elements, the distance that the element is moved to the right of its normal position.
<percentage>
-
A
<percentage>
of the containing block's width. auto
-
Specifies that:
- for absolutely positioned elements, the position of the element is based on the
right
property, whilewidth: auto
is treated as a width based on the content; or ifright
is alsoauto
, the element is positioned where it should horizontally be positioned if it were a static element. - for relatively positioned elements, the distance of the element from its normal position is based on the
right
property; or ifright
is alsoauto
, the element is not moved horizontally at all.
- for absolutely positioned elements, the position of the element is based on the
inherit
-
Specifies that the value is the same as the computed value from its parent element (which might not be its containing block). This computed value is then handled as if it were a
<length>
,<percentage>
, or theauto
keyword.
Description
The effect of left
depends on how the element is positioned (i.e., the value of the position
property):
- When
position
is set toabsolute
orfixed
, theleft
property specifies the distance between the element's outer margin of left edge and the inner border of left edge of its containing block. (The containing block is the ancestor to which the element is relatively positioned.) - When
position
is set torelative
, theleft
property specifies the distance the element's left edge is moved to the right from its normal position. - When
position
is set tosticky
, theleft
property is used to compute the sticky-constraint rectangle. - When
position
is set tostatic
, theleft
property has no effect.
When both left
and right
are defined, and width constraints don't prevent it, the element will stretch to satisfy both. If the element cannot stretch to satisfy both, the position of the element is overspecified. When this is the case, the left
value has precedence when the container is left-to-right; the right
value has precedence when the container is right-to-left.
Formal definition
Initial value | auto |
---|---|
Applies to | positioned elements |
Inherited | no |
Percentages | refer to the width of the containing block |
Computed value | if specified as a length, the corresponding absolute length; if specified as a percentage, the specified value; otherwise, auto |
Animation type | a length, percentage or calc(); |
Formal syntax
left =
auto |
<length-percentage>
<length-percentage> =
<length> |
<percentage>
Examples
Positioning elements
HTML
html
<div id="wrap">
<div id="example_1">
<pre>
position: absolute;
left: 20px;
top: 20px;
</pre>
<p>
The only containing element for this div is the main window, so it
positions itself in relation to it.
</p>
</div>
<div id="example_2">
<pre>
position: relative;
top: 0;
right: 0;
</pre>
<p>Relative position in relation to its siblings.</p>
</div>
<div id="example_3">
<pre>
float: right;
position: relative;
top: 20px;
left: 20px;
</pre>
<p>Relative to its sibling div above, but removed from flow of content.</p>
<div id="example_4">
<pre>
position: absolute;
bottom: 10px;
right: 20px;
</pre>
<p>Absolute position inside of a parent with relative position</p>
</div>
<div id="example_5">
<pre>
position: absolute;
right: 0;
left: 0;
top: 200px;
</pre>
<p>Absolute position with both left and right declared</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
CSS
css
#wrap {
width: 700px;
margin: 0 auto;
background: #5c5c5c;
}
pre {
white-space: pre;
white-space: pre-wrap;
white-space: pre-line;
word-wrap: break-word;
}
#example_1 {
width: 200px;
height: 200px;
position: absolute;
left: 20px;
top: 20px;
background-color: #d8f5ff;
}
#example_2 {
width: 200px;
height: 200px;
position: relative;
top: 0;
right: 0;
background-color: #c1ffdb;
}
#example_3 {
width: 600px;
height: 400px;
position: relative;
top: 20px;
left: 20px;
background-color: #ffd7c2;
}
#example_4 {
width: 200px;
height: 200px;
position: absolute;
bottom: 10px;
right: 20px;
background-color: #ffc7e4;
}
#example_5 {
position: absolute;
right: 0;
left: 0;
top: 100px;
background-color: #d7ffc2;
}
Result
Specifications
Specification |
---|
CSS Positioned Layout Module Level 3 # insets |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
inset
, the shorthand for all related properties:top
,bottom
,left
, andright
- The mapped logical properties:
inset-block-start
,inset-block-end
,inset-inline-start
, andinset-inline-end
and the shorthandsinset-block
andinset-inline
position