The margin-left
CSS property sets the margin area on the left side of an element. A positive value places it farther from its neighbors, while a negative value places it closer.
The vertical margins of two adjacent boxes may fuse. This is called margin collapsing.
In the rare cases where width is overconstrained (i.e., when all of width
, margin-left
, border
, padding
, the content area, and margin-right
are defined), margin-left
is ignored, and will have the same calculated value as if the auto
value was specified.
/* <length> values */ margin-left: 10px; /* An absolute length */ margin-left: 1em; /* relative to the text size */ margin-left: 5%; /* relative to the nearest block container's width */ /* Keyword values */ margin-left: auto; /* Global values */ margin-left: inherit; margin-left: initial; margin-left: unset;
The margin-left
property is specified as the keyword auto
, or a <length>
, or a <percentage>
. Its value can be positive, zero, or negative.
<length>
<percentage>
auto
margin-left
and margin-right
are both auto
, the calculated space is evenly distributed. This table summarizes the different cases: Value of display
| Value of float
| Value of position
| Computed value of auto
| Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
inline , inline-block , inline-table
| any |
static or relative
| 0 | Inline layout mode |
block , inline , inline-block , block , table , inline-table , list-item , table-caption
| any |
static or relative
|
0 , except if both margin-left and margin-right are set to auto . In this case, it is set to the value centering the element inside its parent. | Block layout mode |
block , inline , inline-block , block , table , inline-table , list-item , table-caption
|
left or right
|
static or relative
| 0 | Block layout mode (floating element) |
any table-* , except table-caption
| any | any | 0 | Internal table-* elements don't have margins, use border-spacing instead |
any, except flex , inline-flex , or table-*
| any |
fixed or absolute
|
0 , except if both margin-left and margin-right are set to auto . In this case, it is set to the value centering the border area inside the available width , if fixed. | Absolutely positioned layout mode |
flex , inline-flex
| any | any |
0 , except if there is any positive horizontal free space. In this case, it is evenly distributed to all horizontal auto margins. | Flexbox layout mode |
<length> | <percentage> | auto
.content { margin-left: 5%; } .sidebox { margin-left: 10px; } .logo { margin-left: -5px; }
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
CSS Basic Box Model The definition of 'margin-left' in that specification. | Working Draft | No significant change from CSS 2.1. |
CSS Transitions The definition of 'margin-left' in that specification. | Working Draft | Defines margin-left as animatable. |
CSS Flexible Box Layout Module The definition of 'margin-left' in that specification. | Candidate Recommendation | Defines the behavior of margin-left on flex items. |
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'margin-left' in that specification. | Recommendation | Like in CSS1, but removes its effect on inline elements. |
CSS Level 1 The definition of 'margin-left' in that specification. | Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Initial value | 0 |
---|---|
Applies to | all elements, except elements with table display types other than table-caption , table and inline-table . It also applies to ::first-letter . |
Inherited | no |
Percentages | refer to the width of the containing block |
Media | visual |
Computed value | the percentage as specified or the absolute length |
Animation type | a length |
Canonical order | the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar |
Desktop | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari | |
Basic support | 1 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 3.5 | 1 |
auto |
1 | ? | 1 | 6
|
3.5 | 1 |
Mobile | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Android webview | Chrome for Android | Edge Mobile | Firefox for Android | Opera for Android | iOS Safari | Samsung Internet | |
Basic support | 1 | ? | Yes | 4 | 6 | 1 | ? |
auto |
? | ? | ? | 4 | ? | ? | ? |
© 2005–2018 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/margin-left