Dropdownlist width in IE

Question

In IE, the dropdown-list takes the same width as the dropbox (I hope I am making sense) whereas in Firefox the dropdown-list's width varies according to the content.

This basically means that I have to make sure that the dropbox is wide enough to display the longest selection possible. This makes my page look very ugly :(

Is there any workaround for this problem? How can I use CSS to set different widths for dropbox and the dropdownlist?

Answer 1

A full fledged jQuery plugin is available. It supports non-breaking layout and keyboard interactions, check out the demo page: http://powerkiki.github.com/ie_expand_select_width/

disclaimer: I coded that thing, patches welcome

Answer 2

This is something l have done taking bits from other people's stuff.

        $(document).ready(function () {
        if (document.all) {

            $('#<%=cboDisability.ClientID %>').mousedown(function () {
                $('#<%=cboDisability.ClientID %>').css({ 'width': 'auto' });
            });

            $('#<%=cboDisability.ClientID %>').blur(function () {
                $(this).css({ 'width': '208px' });
            });

            $('#<%=cboDisability.ClientID %>').change(function () {
                $('#<%=cboDisability.ClientID %>').css({ 'width': '208px' });
            });

            $('#<%=cboEthnicity.ClientID %>').mousedown(function () {
                $('#<%=cboEthnicity.ClientID %>').css({ 'width': 'auto' });
            });

            $('#<%=cboEthnicity.ClientID %>').blur(function () {
                $(this).css({ 'width': '208px' });
            });

            $('#<%=cboEthnicity.ClientID %>').change(function () {
                $('#<%=cboEthnicity.ClientID %>').css({ 'width': '208px' });
            });

        }
    });

where cboEthnicity and cboDisability are dropdowns with option text wider than the width of the select itself.

As you can see, l have specified document.all as this only works in IE. Also, l encased the dropdowns within div elements like this:

<div id="dvEthnicity" style="width: 208px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; float: right;"><asp:DropDownList CssClass="select" ID="cboEthnicity" runat="server" DataTextField="description" DataValueField="id" Width="200px"></asp:DropDownList></div>

This takes care of the other elements moving out of place when your dropdown expands. The only downside here is that the menulist visual disappears when you are selecting but returns as soon as you have selected.

Hope this helps someone.

Answer 3

The jquery BalusC's solution improved by me. Used also: Brad Robertson's comment here.

Just put this in a .js, use the wide class for your desired combos and don't forge to give it an Id. Call the function in the onload (or documentReady or whatever).
As simple ass that :)
It will use the width that you defined for the combo as minimun length.

function fixIeCombos() {
    if ($.browser.msie && $.browser.version < 9) {
    var style = $('<style>select.expand { width: auto; }</style>');
    $('html > head').append(style);

    var defaultWidth = "200";

    // get predefined combo's widths.
    var widths = new Array();
    $('select.wide').each(function() {
        var width = $(this).width();
        if (!width) {
        width = defaultWidth;
        }
        widths[$(this).attr('id')] = width;
    });

    $('select.wide')
    .bind('focus mouseover', function() {
        // We're going to do the expansion only if the resultant size is bigger
        // than the original size of the combo.
        // In order to find out the resultant size, we first clon the combo as
        // a hidden element, add to the dom, and then test the width.
        var originalWidth = widths[$(this).attr('id')];

        var $selectClone = $(this).clone();
        $selectClone.addClass('expand').hide();
        $(this).after( $selectClone );
        var expandedWidth = $selectClone.width()
        $selectClone.remove();
        if (expandedWidth > originalWidth) {
        $(this).addClass('expand').removeClass('clicked');
        }
    })
    .bind('click', function() {
        $(this).toggleClass('clicked'); 
    })
    .bind('mouseout', function() {
        if (!$(this).hasClass('clicked')) {
        $(this).removeClass('expand');
        }
    })
    .bind('blur', function() {
        $(this).removeClass('expand clicked');
    })
    }
}