CSS Layout - The position Property
The position property specifies the type of
positioning method used for an element (static, relative, fixed or absolute).
The position Property
The position property specifies the type of positioning method used for an element.
There are four different position values:
staticrelativefixedabsolute
Elements are then positioned using the top, bottom, left, and right
properties. However, these properties will not work unless the position
property is set first. They also work differently depending on the position
value.
position: static;
HTML elements are positioned static by default.
Static positioned elements are not affected by the top, bottom, left, and right properties.
An element with position: static; is not positioned in any special way; it is
always positioned according to the normal flow of the page:
Here is the CSS that is used:
position: relative;
An element with position: relative; is positioned relative to its normal position.
Setting the top, right, bottom, and left properties of a relatively-positioned element will cause it to be adjusted away from its normal position. Other content will not be adjusted to fit into any gap left by the element.
Here is the CSS that is used:
Example
div.relative {
position: relative;
left: 30px;
border: 3px solid #73AD21;
}
Try it yourself »
position: fixed;
An element with position: fixed; is positioned relative to the viewport, which means it always
stays in the same place even if the page is scrolled. The top,
right, bottom, and left properties are used to position the element.
A fixed element does not leave a gap in the page where it would normally have been located.
Notice the fixed element in the lower-right corner of the page. Here is the CSS that is used:
Example
div.fixed {
position: fixed;
bottom: 0;
right: 0;
width:
300px;
border: 3px solid #73AD21;
}
Try it yourself »
position: absolute;
An element with position: absolute; is positioned relative to the nearest positioned ancestor
(instead of positioned relative to the viewport, like fixed).
However; if an absolute positioned element has no positioned ancestors, it uses the document body, and moves along with page scrolling.
Note: A "positioned" element is one whose position is anything except
static.
Here is a simple example:
Here is the CSS that is used:
Example
div.relative {
position: relative;
width: 400px;
height: 200px;
border: 3px solid #73AD21;
}
div.absolute {
position: absolute;
top: 80px;
right: 0;
width: 200px;
height: 100px;
border: 3px solid #73AD21;
}
Try it yourself »
Overlapping Elements
When elements are positioned, they can overlap other elements.
The z-index property specifies the stack order of an element (which element should be placed in front of, or behind, the others).
An element can have a positive or negative stack order:
This is a heading
Because the image has a z-index of -1, it will be placed behind the text.
An element with greater stack order is always in front of an element with a lower stack order.
 |
Note: If two positioned elements overlap without a z-index
specified, the element positioned last in the HTML code will be shown on top. |
|---|
Positioning Text In an Image
How to position text over an image:
Example
Try it yourself:
Top Left » Top Right » Bottom Left » Bottom Right » Centered »
More Examples
Set the shape of an element
This example demonstrates how to set the shape of an element. The element is clipped into this shape, and displayed.
How to show overflow in an element using scroll
This example demonstrates how to set the overflow property to create a scroll bar when an element's content is too big to fit in a specified area.
How to set the browser to automatically handle overflow
This example demonstrates how to set the browser to automatically handle overflow.
Change the cursor
This example demonstrates how to change the cursor.
Test Yourself with Exercises!
Exercise 1 » Exercise 2 » Exercise 3 » Exercise 4 » Exercise 5 »
All CSS Positioning Properties
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| bottom | Sets the bottom margin edge for a positioned box |
| clip | Clips an absolutely positioned element |
| cursor | Specifies the type of cursor to be displayed |
| left | Sets the left margin edge for a positioned box |
| overflow | Specifies what happens if content overflows an element's box |
| overflow-x | Specifies what to do with the left/right edges of the content if it overflows the element's content area |
| overflow-y | Specifies what to do with the top/bottom edges of the content if it overflows the element's content area |
| position | Specifies the type of positioning for an element |
| right | Sets the right margin edge for a positioned box |
| top | Sets the top margin edge for a positioned box |
| z-index | Sets the stack order of an element |