Center an item with position: relative

Question

I've got a menu that appears on hover over an absolutely positioned div. All of the menu items have to be relatively positioned because the absolutely div will appear multiple times on a page and will appear in multiple sizes in one instance.

How would I center multiple items with position: relative both vertically and horizontally when I won't know the the size of the parent div?

I know the position: absolute trick with negative margins, but this situation calls for something different.

Here's the code:

.OuterCase { 
  position  : absolute; 
  width     : 100%;  
  height    : 100%; 
  text-align: center;
}

.InnerItem  { 
   width  : 38px;
   height : 38px;
   display: inline-block;
}

I've got it to center the items horizontally; it's getting the vertical that's being a bit elusive.

Solution 1

Much simpler:

position: relative; 
left: 50%;
transform: translateX(-50%);

You are now centered in your parent element. You can do that vertically too.

Solution 2

Alternatively, you may also use the CSS3 Flexible Box Model. It's a great way to create flexible layouts that can also be applied to center content like so:

#parent {
    -webkit-box-align:center;
    -webkit-box-pack:center;
    display:-webkit-box;
}

Solution 3

If you have a relatively- (or otherwise-) positioned div you can center something inside it with margin:auto

Vertical centering is a bit tricker, but possible.

Solution 4

You can use calc to position element relative to center. For example if you want to position element 200px right from the center .. you can do this :

#your_element{
    position:absolute;
    left: calc(50% + 200px);
}

Dont forget this

When you use signs + and - you must have one blank space between sign and number, but when you use signs * and / there is no need for blank space.

Solution 5

Another option is to create an extra wrapper to center the element vertically.

#container{
  border:solid 1px #33aaff;
  width:200px;
  height:200px;
}

#helper{
  position:relative;
  height:50px;
  top:50%;
  border:dotted 1px #ff55aa;
}

#centered{
  position:relative;
  height:50px;
  top:-50%;
  border:solid 1px #ff55aa;
}

<div id="container">
  <div id="helper">
    <div id="centered"></div>
  </div>
<div>

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