box-align

Non-standard: This feature is non-standard and is not on a standards track. Do not use it on production sites facing the Web: it will not work for every user. There may also be large incompatibilities between implementations and the behavior may change in the future.

Warning:: This is a property of the original CSS Flexible Box Layout Module draft, and has been replaced by a newer standard.

The box-align CSS property specifies how an element aligns its contents across its layout in a perpendicular direction. The effect of the property is only visible if there is extra space in the box.

See flexbox for information about the current standard.

/* Keyword values */
box-align: start;
box-align: center;
box-align: end;
box-align: baseline;
box-align: stretch;

/* Global values */
box-lines: inherit;
box-lines: initial;
box-lines: unset;

The direction of layout depends on the element's orientation: horizontal or vertical.

Syntax

The box-align property is specified as one of the keyword values listed below.

Values

start

The box aligns contents at the start, leaving any extra space at the end.

center

The box aligns contents in the center, dividing any extra space equally between the start and the end.

end

The box aligns contents at the end, leaving any extra space at the start.

baseline

The box aligns the baselines of the contents (lining up the text). This only applies if the box's orientation is horizontal.

stretch

The box stretches the contents so that there is no extra space in the box.

Notes

The edge of the box designated the start for alignment purposes depends on the box's orientation:

  • For horizontal elements, the start is the top edge.
  • For vertical elements, the start is the left edge.

The edge opposite to the start is designated the end.

If the alignment is set using the element's align attribute, then the style is ignored.

Formal definition

Initial valuestretch
Applies toelements with a CSS display value of box or inline-box
Inheritedno
Computed valueas specified
Animation typediscrete

Formal syntax

start | center | end | baseline | stretch

Examples

Setting box alignment

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>CSS box-align example</title>
<style>
div.example {
  display: box;                   /* As specified */
  display: -moz-box;              /* Mozilla */
  display: -webkit-box;           /* WebKit */

  /* Make this box taller than the children,
     so there is room for the box-pack */
  height: 400px;

  /* Make this box wider than the children
     so there is room for the box-align */
  width: 300px;

  /* Children should be oriented vertically */
  box-orient: vertical;           /* As specified */
  -moz-box-orient: vertical;      /* Mozilla */
  -webkit-box-orient: vertical;   /* WebKit */

  /* Align children to the horizontal center of this box */
  box-align: center;              /* As specified */
  -moz-box-align: center;         /* Mozilla */
  -webkit-box-align: center;      /* WebKit */

  /* Pack children to the bottom of this box */
  box-pack: end;                  /* As specified */
  -moz-box-pack: end;             /* Mozilla */
  -webkit-box-pack: end;          /* WebKit */
}

div.example > p {
  /* Make children narrower than their parent,
     so there is room for the box-align */
  width: 200px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="example">
    <p>I will be second from the bottom of div.example, centered horizontally.</p>
    <p>I will be on the bottom of div.example, centered horizontally.</p>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

Specifications

Not part of any standard.

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also