The CSS height and width properties are used to set the height and width of an element.
The CSS max-width property is used to set the maximum width of an element.
CSS Setting height and width #
The height and width properties are used to set the height and width of an element.
The height and width properties do not include padding, borders, or margins. It sets the height/width of the area inside the padding, border, and margin of the element.
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CSS height and width Values #
The height and width properties may have the following values:
auto– This is default. The browser calculates the height and widthlength– Defines the height/width in px, cm etc.%– Defines the height/width in percent of the containing blockinitial– Sets the height/width to its default valueinherit– The height/width will be inherited from its parent value
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CSS height and width Examples #
Set the height and width of a <div> element:
div {
height: 100px;
width: 500px;
background-color: powderblue;
} Note: Remember that the height and width properties do not include padding, borders, or margins! They set the height/width of the area inside the padding, border, and margin of the element!
Setting max-width #
The max-width property is used to set the maximum width of an element.
The max-width can be specified in length values, like px, cm, etc., or in percent (%) of the containing block, or set to none (this is default. Means that there is no maximum width).
The problem with the <div> above occurs when the browser window is smaller than the width of the element (500px). The browser then adds a horizontal scrollbar to the page.
Using max-width instead, in this situation, will improve the browser’s handling of small windows.
Tip: Drag the browser window to smaller than 500px wide, to see the difference between the two divs!
Note: If you for some reason use both the width property and the max-width property on the same element, and the value of the width property is larger than the max-width property; the max-width property will be used (and the width property will be ignored).
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This <div> element has a height of 100 pixels and a max-width of 500 pixels:
div {
max-width: 500px;
height: 100px;
background-color: powderblue;
} All CSS Dimension Properties #
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| height | Sets the height of an element |
| max-height | Sets the maximum height of an element |
| max-width | Sets the maximum width of an element |
| min-height | Sets the minimum height of an element |
| min-width | Sets the minimum width of an element |
| width | Sets the width of an element |
