Flexbox-related CSS properties

Articles

This article explains CSS properties related to flexbox.

You can learn how to use flexbox and inline-flexbox.

YouTube Video

HTML for Preview

css-flex.html

  1<!DOCTYPE html>
  2<html lang="en">
  3<head>
  4    <meta charset="UTF-8">
  5    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  6    <title>CSS Properties Example</title>
  7    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css-base.css">
  8    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css-flex.css">
  9</head>
 10<body>
 11    <!-- Header -->
 12    <header>
 13        <h1>CSS Properties For Layout</h1>
 14    </header>
 15
 16    <!-- Main content -->
 17    <main>
 18        <header>
 19            <h2>Layout Related Properties</h2>
 20        </header>
 21        <article>
 22            <h3>flex</h3>
 23            <section>
 24            <header><h4>CSS</h4></header>
 25<pre class="sample">
 26.flex-container {
 27    display: flex;
 28    justify-content: space-between;
 29    align-items: center;
 30    background-color: lightblue;
 31    height: 100px;
 32}
 33
 34.flex-item {
 35    background-color: lightskyblue;
 36    padding: 10px;
 37    margin: 5px;
 38    width: 70px;
 39    height: auto;
 40}
 41</pre>
 42            <header><h4>HTML</h4></header>
 43<pre>
 44&lt;div class="flex-container"&gt;
 45    &lt;div class="flex-item"&gt;1&lt;/div&gt;
 46    &lt;div class="flex-item"&gt;2&lt;/div&gt;
 47    &lt;div class="flex-item"&gt;3&lt;/div&gt;
 48&lt;/div&gt;
 49</pre>
 50            <header><h4>HTML+CSS</h4></header>
 51            <section class="sample-view">
 52                <div class="flex-container">
 53                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
 54                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
 55                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
 56                </div>
 57            </section>
 58          </section>
 59        </article>
 60        <article>
 61          <h3>flex-direction</h3>
 62          <section>
 63            <header><h4>flex-direction: row</h4></header>
 64            <section class="sample-view">
 65                <div class="flex-container" style="flex-direction: row;">
 66                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
 67                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
 68                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
 69                </div>
 70            </section>
 71            <header><h4>flex-direction: row-reverse</h4></header>
 72            <section class="sample-view">
 73                <div class="flex-container" style="flex-direction: row-reverse;">
 74                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
 75                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
 76                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
 77                </div>
 78            </section>
 79            <header><h4>flex-direction: column</h4></header>
 80            <section class="sample-view">
 81                <div class="flex-container" style="flex-direction: column; height: 200px;">
 82                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
 83                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
 84                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
 85                </div>
 86            </section>
 87            <header><h4>flex-direction: column-reverse</h4></header>
 88            <section class="sample-view">
 89                <div class="flex-container" style="flex-direction: column-reverse; height: 200px;">
 90                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
 91                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
 92                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
 93                </div>
 94            </section>
 95          </section>
 96        </article>
 97        <article>
 98          <h3>justify-content</h3>
 99          <section>
100            <header><h4>justify-content: flex-start</h4></header>
101            <section class="sample-view">
102                <div class="flex-container" style="justify-content: flex-start;">
103                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
104                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
105                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
106                </div>
107            </section>
108            <header><h4>justify-content: flex-end</h4></header>
109            <section class="sample-view">
110                <div class="flex-container" style="justify-content: flex-end;">
111                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
112                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
113                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
114                </div>
115            </section>
116            <header><h4>justify-content: center</h4></header>
117            <section class="sample-view">
118                <div class="flex-container" style="justify-content: center;">
119                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
120                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
121                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
122                </div>
123            </section>
124            <header><h4>justify-content: space-between</h4></header>
125            <section class="sample-view">
126                <div class="flex-container" style="justify-content: space-between;">
127                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
128                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
129                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
130                </div>
131            </section>
132            <header><h4>justify-content: space-around</h4></header>
133            <section class="sample-view">
134                <div class="flex-container" style="justify-content: space-around;">
135                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
136                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
137                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
138                </div>
139            </section>
140          </section>
141        </article>
142        <article>
143          <h3>align-items</h3>
144          <section>
145            <header><h4>align-items: flex-start</h4></header>
146            <section class="sample-view">
147                <div class="flex-container" style="align-items: flex-start; height: 150px;">
148                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
149                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
150                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
151                </div>
152            </section>
153            <header><h4>align-items: center</h4></header>
154            <section class="sample-view">
155                <div class="flex-container" style="align-items: center; height: 150px;">
156                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
157                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
158                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
159                </div>
160            </section>
161            <header><h4>align-items: flex-end</h4></header>
162            <section class="sample-view">
163                <div class="flex-container" style="align-items: flex-end; height: 150px;">
164                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
165                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
166                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
167                </div>
168            </section>
169            <header><h4>align-items: stretch</h4></header>
170            <section class="sample-view">
171                <div class="flex-container" style="align-items: stretch; height: 150px;">
172                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
173                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
174                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
175                </div>
176            </section>
177            <header><h4>align-items: baseline</h4></header>
178            <section class="sample-view">
179                <div class="flex-container" style="align-items: baseline; height: 150px;">
180                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
181                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
182                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
183                </div>
184            </section>
185          </section>
186        </article>
187        <article>
188          <h3>flex-wrap</h3>
189          <section>
190            <header><h4>flex-wrap: nowrap</h4></header>
191            <section class="sample-view">
192                <div class="flex-container" style="flex-wrap: nowrap;">
193                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
194                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
195                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
196                    <div class="flex-item">Item 4</div>
197                    <div class="flex-item">Item 5</div>
198                    <div class="flex-item">Item 6</div>
199                    <div class="flex-item">Item 7</div>
200                    <div class="flex-item">Item 8</div>
201                    <div class="flex-item">Item 9</div>
202                </div>
203            </section>
204            <header><h4>flex-wrap: wrap</h4></header>
205            <section class="sample-view">
206                <div class="flex-container" style="flex-wrap: wrap; height: 300px;">
207                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
208                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
209                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
210                    <div class="flex-item">Item 4</div>
211                    <div class="flex-item">Item 5</div>
212                    <div class="flex-item">Item 6</div>
213                    <div class="flex-item">Item 7</div>
214                    <div class="flex-item">Item 8</div>
215                    <div class="flex-item">Item 9</div>
216                </div>
217            </section>
218            <header><h4>flex-wrap: wrap-reverse</h4></header>
219            <section class="sample-view">
220                <div class="flex-container" style="flex-wrap: wrap-reverse; height: 300px;">
221                    <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
222                    <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
223                    <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
224                    <div class="flex-item">Item 4</div>
225                    <div class="flex-item">Item 5</div>
226                    <div class="flex-item">Item 6</div>
227                    <div class="flex-item">Item 7</div>
228                    <div class="flex-item">Item 8</div>
229                    <div class="flex-item">Item 9</div>
230                </div>
231            </section>
232          </section>
233        </article>
234        <article>
235          <h3>flex-grow</h3>
236          <section>
237            <header><h4>CSS</h4></header>
238<pre class="sample">
239.item1 {
240  flex-grow: 1;
241}
242
243.item2 {
244  flex-grow: 2;
245}
246
247.item3 {
248  flex-grow: 0;
249}</pre>
250            <header><h4>HTML+CSS</h4></header>
251            <section class="sample-view">
252                <div class="flex-container">
253                    <div class="flex-item" style="flex-grow: 1;">Item 1</div>
254                    <div class="flex-item" style="flex-grow: 2;">Item 2</div>
255                    <div class="flex-item" style="flex-grow: 0;">Item 3</div>
256                </div>
257            </section>
258          </section>
259        </article>
260        <article>
261          <h3>flex-shrink</h3>
262          <section>
263            <header><h4>CSS</h4></header>
264<pre class="sample">
265.item1 {
266  flex-shrink: 0;
267}
268.item2 {
269  flex-shrink: 1;
270}
271.item3 {
272  flex-shrink: 1;
273}</pre>
274            <header><h4>HTML+CSS</h4></header>
275            <section class="sample-view">
276                <div class="flex-container" style="width: 200px;">
277                    <div class="flex-item" style="flex-shrink: 0;">Item 1</div>
278                    <div class="flex-item" style="flex-shrink: 1;">Item 2</div>
279                    <div class="flex-item" style="flex-shrink: 1;">Item 3</div>
280                </div>
281            </section>
282          </section>
283        </article>
284        <article>
285          <h3>flex-basis</h3>
286          <section>
287            <header><h4>CSS</h4></header>
288<pre class="sample">
289.item1 {
290  flex-basis: 100px;
291}
292.item2 {
293  flex-basis: 200px;
294}
295.item3 {
296  flex-basis: 25%;
297}</pre>
298            <header><h4>HTML+CSS</h4></header>
299            <section class="sample-view">
300                <div class="flex-container">
301                    <div class="flex-item" style="flex-basis: 100px;">Item 1</div>
302                    <div class="flex-item" style="flex-basis: 200px;">Item 2</div>
303                    <div class="flex-item" style="flex-basis: 25%;">Item 3</div>
304                </div>
305            </section>
306          </section>
307        </article>
308        <article>
309          <h3>align-self</h3>
310          <section>
311            <header><h4>CSS</h4></header>
312<pre class="sample">
313.item1 {
314  align-self: flex-start;
315}
316.item2 {
317  align-self: center;
318}
319.item3 {
320  align-self: flex-end;
321}</pre>
322            <header><h4>HTML+CSS</h4></header>
323            <section class="sample-view">
324                <div class="flex-container" style="height: 150px;">
325                    <div class="flex-item" style="align-self: flex-start;">Item 1</div>
326                    <div class="flex-item" style="align-self: center;">Item 2</div>
327                    <div class="flex-item" style="align-self: flex-end;">Item 3</div>
328                </div>
329            </section>
330          </section>
331        </article>
332        <article>
333          <h3>order</h3>
334          <section>
335            <header><h4>CSS</h4></header>
336<pre class="sample">
337.item1 {
338  order: 3;
339}
340
341.item2 {
342  order: 1;
343}
344
345.item3 {
346  order: 2;
347}</pre>
348            <header><h4>HTML+CSS</h4></header>
349            <section class="sample-view">
350                <div class="flex-container">
351                    <div class="flex-item" style="order: 3;">Item 1</div>
352                    <div class="flex-item" style="order: 1;">Item 2</div>
353                    <div class="flex-item" style="order: 2;">Item 3</div>
354                </div>
355            </section>
356          </section>
357        </article>
358        <article>
359            <h3>inline-flex</h3>
360            <section>
361                <header><h4>display: inline-flex</h4></header>
362                <section class="sample-view">
363                  Here is an example of inline-flex:
364                  <div class="inline-container">
365                      <div class="inline-item">1</div>
366                      <div class="inline-item">2</div>
367                      <div class="inline-item">3</div>
368                  </div>
369                  This text is in the same line as the inline-flex container.
370                </section>
371            </section>
372        </article>
373    </main>
374</body>
375</html>

Flexbox and Inline Flexbox

`flex`

 1.flex-container {
 2    display: flex;
 3    justify-content: space-between;
 4    align-items: center;
 5    height: 100px;
 6}
 7
 8.flex-item {
 9    background-color: lightskyblue;
10    padding: 10px;
11    margin: 5px;
12    width: 70px;
13    height: auto;
14}

flex is a property used in CSS to efficiently align and arrange elements, and it is part of the flexbox layout system. This system is mainly for easily aligning and distributing child elements (flex items) within a container and is more flexible than traditional float or position.

The flex-box class specifies the display property as flex to apply the flex layout.
The justify-content property with space-between places items at the left and right ends while equally distributing the space between them.
align-items property set to center vertically centers the items.

Basic Structure of Flexbox

 1<div class="flex-container">
 2  <div class="flex-item">Item 1</div>
 3  <div class="flex-item">Item 2</div>
 4  <div class="flex-item">Item 3</div>
 5</div>
 6
 7<style>
 8.flex-container {
 9  display: flex;
10  /* Other flex properties */
11  flex-direction: row | row-reverse | column | column-reverse;
12  justify-content: flex-start | flex-end | center | space-between | space-around;
13  align-items: stretch | flex-start | flex-end | center | baseline;
14  flex-wrap: nowrap | wrap | wrap-reverse;
15}
16.flex-item {
17  /* Styles applied to individual items */
18  flex-grow: 0 | 1 | 2 | ...;
19  flex-shrink: 0 | 1;
20  flex-basis: auto | 10px | 25% | ...;
21  align-self: stretch | flex-start | flex-end | center | baseline;
22  order: 0 | 1 | 2 | ... | -1 | -2 | ...;
23}
24</style>

Flexbox has two main components: the flex container and the flex items.

The flex container is the parent element that wraps the child elements, specified using display: flex.
Flex items are the elements placed inside the flex container, meaning the direct children of the container.

Flex Container Properties

The following properties are related to the flex container.

Specify flex in the display property to define a flex container. The internal child elements become flex items.
The flex-direction property specifies the direction in which the flex items are placed. The following values can be specified:.
- row: Aligns horizontally from left to right. This is the default value.
- row-reverse: Aligns horizontally from right to left.
- column: Aligns vertically from top to bottom.
- column-reverse: Aligns vertically from bottom to top.
The justify-content property specifies how flex items are aligned horizontally (along the main axis).
- flex-start: Aligned to the start (left).
- flex-end: Aligned to the end (right).
- center: Center aligned.
- space-between: Distributes space evenly between items.
- space-around: Distributes space evenly around items.
The align-items property specifies how items are aligned vertically (along the cross axis).
- flex-start: Aligned to the top.
- center: Vertically centered.
- flex-end: Aligned to the bottom.
- stretch: Stretches to fill the container height.
- baseline: Aligned to the text baseline.
The flex-wrap property specifies whether items should wrap if they exceed the container's width.
- nowrap: No wrapping. This is the default value.
- wrap: Wraps items.
- wrap-reverse: Wraps items in reverse order.

Properties of Flex Items

The following properties are related to flex items.

The flex-grow property specifies the growth rate of an item. The larger the value, the more space the item occupies compared to others.
- If 0, the item will not grow. This is the default value.
- If 1 or higher, the growth rate is specified.
The flex-shrink property specifies the shrink rate of an item. The larger the value, the more the item will shrink.
- If 1, the item will shrink when there is not enough space. This is the default value.
- If 0, it will not shrink.
The flex-basis property specifies the initial width or height of each item. Usually it is the size on the main axis. The default value is auto, which is based on the content size, but you can specify fixed values in pixels or percentages.
The align-self property specifies how to align an individual flex item along the cross axis. It can override the value specified by align-items.
The order property changes the display order of flex items. The default is 0, but specifying a positive number moves it later, and a negative number moves it earlier.

Advantages of Flexbox

The advantages of flexbox include the following points:.

Flexible layout: You can flexibly control the alignment, spacing, and direction of elements.
Ideal for responsive design: Child elements automatically adjust according to the size of the parent element.

`inline-flex`

 1.inline-container {
 2    display: inline-flex;
 3    border: 2px solid #000;
 4    padding: 10px;
 5    justify-content: space-between;
 6    background-color: lightblue;
 7    width: 150px;
 8    height: 50px;
 9}
10.inline-item {
11    background-color: lightskyblue;
12    padding: 10px;
13    margin: 5px;
14    width: 20px;
15    height: auto;
16}

inline-flex is a layout style in CSS that allows you to layout the contents using flexbox while aligning the element along the inline flow. It behaves similarly to display: flex, but inline-flex makes the element itself behave as an inline element.
In this example, the inline-flex is applied to the container class. Therefore, the container class behaves as an inline-level element within the parent <div> element. At the same time, the elements of the item class, which are child elements within the container class, are arranged according to the rules of the flexbox. In this example, justify-content: space-between is used, so space is evenly distributed between child elements.

Use cases for `inline-flex`

inline-flex is particularly useful in cases such as:.

When you want to use a flex layout with inline elements It is useful when you need to use flexbox for positioning in small UI components like buttons or icons. For example, when you want to align an icon and text side by side and center them.
When building complex layouts while maintaining inline flow It is used when you want to leverage the power of flexbox to make the internal layout flexible while having it act as an inline element. For example, when you want to line up multiple elements in the same row and adjust child elements within them.

You can follow along with the above article using Visual Studio Code on our YouTube channel. Please also check out the YouTube channel.

Flexbox-related CSS properties

YouTube Video

HTML for Preview

Flexbox and Inline Flexbox

flex

Basic Structure of Flexbox

Flex Container Properties

Properties of Flex Items

Advantages of Flexbox

inline-flex

Use cases for inline-flex

YouTube Video

`flex`

`inline-flex`

Use cases for `inline-flex`