CSS block-size Property

Posted in CSS Tutorial

Updated on Oct 01, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 14 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

The block-size property in CSS allows developers to set the size of an element’s block dimension, which corresponds to the height in horizontal writing modes and the width in vertical writing modes.

This property is particularly useful for creating responsive designs, as it adapts to the writing mode of the content.

💡 Syntax

The syntax for the block-size property is straightforward. You can specify a length, percentage, or an auto value.

Syntax

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element {
  block-size: value;
}

🎛️ Default Value

The default value of the block-size property is auto, which means the size is determined by the element's content, padding, borders, and margins.

🏠 Property Values

Value	Description
length	Specifies a fixed block size using units like px, em, rem, etc.
percentage	Specifies the block size as a percentage of the containing block.
auto	The browser calculates the block size based on the content and other CSS properties.
max-content	The block size is defined by the content’s intrinsic maximum size.
min-content	The block size is defined by the content’s intrinsic minimum size.
fit-content	The block size is calculated to fit the content but does not exceed a specified value.

📄 Example

In this example, we'll set the block size of a div element to 200px. This means the height will be 200px in horizontal writing modes.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>CSS block-size Example</title>
  <style>
    .box {
      block-size: 200px;
      background-color: lightblue;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Block Size Example</h1>
  <div class="box">This box has a block size of 200px.</div>
</body>
</html>

🖥️ Browser Compatibility

The block-size property is supported in most modern browsers, including the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera. It is recommended to test your design across different browsers to ensure consistency in appearance.

🎉 Conclusion

The block-size property is a versatile tool for controlling the dimension of elements in the block direction, allowing for more responsive and adaptable designs.

By using this property, you can ensure that your layouts are consistent and work well with different writing modes and screen sizes. Experiment with different values to see how they affect the layout of your content.