Is there a practical difference between whether a left-floated element (say, and image) has display: inline-block; applied to it, as opposed to leaving the default display: block; rule applied?
In other words, what's the difference between:
<div style="float: left; display: inline-block;">text</div>
and
<div style="float: left; display: block;">text</div>
?
An answer by @thirtydot might help you... Question's link
I just found out that floating an
element will also make it a block,
therefore specifying a float
property
and display:block
is redundant.
Yes, display: block
is redundant if you've specified float: left
(or right
).
(What would happen if you tried to
specify display:inline and float:left?
)
display: inline
will not make any difference, because setting float: left
forces display: block
"no matter what":
http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/visuren.html#dis-pos-flo
Otherwise, if 'float' has a value
other than 'none', the box is floated
and 'display' is set according to the
table below.
To summarize said table: float
= display: block
.
However, your specific example of float: left; display: inline
is useful in one way - it fixes an IE6 bug.
Are there any other examples of
redundant combinations to watch out
for? block & width ? etc,
Some examples:
- If you set
position: absolute
, then float: none
is forced.
- The
top
, right
, bottom
, left
properties will not have any effect unless position
has been set to a value other than the default of static
.
Is there a tool that can check for
such things?
I don't think so. It's not something that is ever needed, so I can't see why anybody would have written such a tool.
You don't have to specify a float: left
and a display: inline-block
for the same element, you use one or the other, not both. Float is used to float text around elements, its not the best weapon to choose when doing a layout. Go with display: block, and inline-block.
http://joshnh.com/2012/02/07/why-you-should-use-inline-block-when-positioning-elements/
Block elements — form boxes according to the css box-model. They have width, height, padding, border, and margin and they stack vertically on top of each other.
Inline elements — don’t form boxes. They sit horizontally next to each other.
Inline-block elements — act like block elements on the inside where they form boxes. On the outside they act like inline elements sitting horizontally next to each other instead of stacking on top of each other.
A good resource: http://learnlayout.com/inline-block.html
According to SitePoint:
If you’re new to CSS layouts, you’d be forgiven for thinking that
using CSS floats in imaginative ways is the height of skill. If you
have consumed as many CSS layout tutorials as you can find, you might
suppose that mastering floats is a rite of passage. You’ll be dazzled
by the ingenuity, astounded by the complexity, and you’ll gain a sense
of achievement when you finally understand how floats work.
Don’t be fooled. You’re being brainwashed.
http://www.sitepoint.com/give-floats-the-flick-in-css-layouts/
When you use float: left;
almost any elements behave as a block
element. So there is no any difference in this particular case.