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CSS CSS Layout Basics Positioning Page Content How Absolute Positioning Works

GoldSpec Digital
GoldSpec Digital
4,185 Points
Posted by GoldSpec Digital
GoldSpec Digital
4,185 Points

Absolute Positioning got me bamboozled!

Hi all,

So i've read all the questions and answers on this, but I just want to make sure that I have 100% have got this right...

So in the example, the <li> is within a <ul> which is within a <div>.

When using absolute positioning, the li has been positioning relative to the viewport.

This is because the <li> has no positioned ancestors.

So my question is,

  1. If a parent element, in this example the <ul> or the <div> is not given a position property, then by default, it is static?

  2. If you were to give the <ul>, or <div> a position value, then when you use absolute positioning on the <li>, it would be positioned relative to its containing element, and not the default top left of the browser window?

Many thanks,

Naomi

1 Answer

martinjones1
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
martinjones1
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 44,824 Points

Hi,

  1. According to this link, any positions not set default to static: https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/pr_class_position.asp.

  2. Yes, if you give a parent element a position of relative and set a child element as absolute, the child element is positioned in relation to the parent element then and not the browser window.

I would highly recommend the course below, it is only 35 mins and will pay for itself 10x over when you want to get a better understanding of how things are working:

https://teamtreehouse.com/library/debugging-css-with-chrome-devtools

Hope this helps,

GoldSpec Digital
GoldSpec Digital
4,185 Points
GoldSpec Digital
GoldSpec Digital
4,185 Points

Hi,

Thanks for this - such a massive help!

:)