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CSS

Posted by Ben Os
Ben Os
20,008 Points

clear: both - Only for the previous element?

I've learned here in Treehouse and read on several other places that when if we float an element, we might need to clear float from the element before it.

  1. I am not sure if "before it" always relates to the parent div (if there is one), or just to the one which is one stage up in the DOM.

  2. One programmer advised me to also clear floats from those who come after the div... I.E --- One stage down in the DOM... Is this also necessary? Why would this action ever be necessary? None of the videos I have seen talked about this.

3 Answers

Bryan Summers
Bryan Summers
11,864 Points
Bryan Summers
Bryan Summers
11,864 Points

I agree with Steven. It's a perfect strategy for not having to worry about clearing floats.

"before it" does indeed refer to the parent element. The clear property will only affect float elements "contained" within the parent element, not on subsequent elements in the DOM.

As for your second question, you should disregard that advice. Just apply the clearfix class to the parent container element and all floats within that element will be cleared.

Hope this helps!

Ben Os
Ben Os
20,008 Points

if I understand correctly we apply the cleafix only to the parent-container of all the child-elements, and this will give us peace \ quiet of the mind about all the its child elements... Am I accurate?

Much thanks !!!

Bryan Summers
Bryan Summers
11,864 Points
Bryan Summers
Bryan Summers
11,864 Points

Hi Ben,

Yes you are correct :)

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
243,318 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
243,318 Points

Typically, you'll float things within a container. A common practice is to create a "clearfix" using the ::after pseudo-element. So, if your outer container had the class clearfix, you might have this in the CSS:

.clearfix::after {
  content: "";
  display: block;
  clear: both;
}

If you do this consistently, you'll never have to worry about uncleared floats coming before something that is not also inside the same container.