CSS Grid Row Span: A Comprehensive Guide

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CSS Grid Row Span is a powerful tool that allows you to control the number of rows a grid item spans.

It's a simple yet effective way to create complex layouts.

To use CSS Grid Row Span, you need to specify the number of rows you want the item to span using the grid-row attribute.

For example, if you want an item to span 3 rows, you would use grid-row: span 3.

This attribute can be used on any grid item, and it's not limited to rows.

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CSS Grid Basics

CSS Grid Basics are a game-changer for web developers, allowing us to divide available space into columns and rows with predictable sizing behaviors.

The Grid provides a mechanism for authors to precisely position and size elements by referencing Grid Lines between columns and rows, or by defining and referencing a Grid Cell, which is a rectangular space covering an intersection of columns and rows.

For your interest: Css Grid Space between

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Application layout can be achieved with the Grid, addressing the problems of brittle and counter-intuitive behavior that often resulted from using floats or careful measurements on floated elements.

Authors can use tables, JavaScript, or careful measurements on floated elements as workarounds to achieve desired layouts, but these can be brittle and result in counter-intuitive behavior as space becomes constrained.

The Grid offers a more reliable alternative for fixed layouts that cannot take advantage of changes in the available rendering space on a screen.

Take a look at this: Css Grid Extra Space

Grid Structure

The grid structure is the backbone of CSS Grid, and it's essential to understand how it works with row span.

Grid rows can be defined using the grid-template-rows property, which takes a track list as its value. This track list defines the number of rows and their sizes.

A track is a single row or column in the grid, and it can be defined using a length unit, such as pixels or percentages. For example, a track can be defined as 200px or 50%.

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Grid rows can also be defined using the grid-auto-rows property, which is a shorthand for the grid-auto-row property. This property defines the default row size for rows that are not explicitly defined.

In CSS Grid, each grid row has a unique index, starting from 0. This index can be used to target specific rows in the grid using the grid-row property.

The grid-row property can take a single value or two values, separated by a slash. When two values are provided, the first value specifies the row index, and the second value specifies the row span.

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Grid Properties

Grid properties are used to define the layout of elements within a grid container.

The grid-template-columns property is used to define the number of columns in a grid and their width.

Grid properties can be specified for the grid container or for individual grid items.

Here's an interesting read: Css Grid Container

Constituent Properties

Grid properties can be complex, but understanding their constituent properties is key to mastering them.

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The grid-row property is a shorthand that combines two properties.

Grid properties can be overwhelming, but breaking them down into their constituent parts makes them more manageable.

One such constituent property is the grid-row property, which is a shorthand that combines two properties: grid-row-start and grid-row-end.

The grid-row-start property specifies the starting row of an item in a grid, while the grid-row-end property specifies the ending row.

Understanding these constituent properties can help you create more complex and dynamic grid layouts.

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Computed Values

Computed values for grid properties are a crucial aspect of grid layout. They're essentially the final values that are used to determine the size and position of grid tracks.

All grid tracks are included in the computed value reported for grid-rows and grid-columns, regardless of how they were created. This means that even implicit tracks, which are created when a grid item references a grid line not explicitly defined by a grid-rows or grid-columns property, are taken into account.

Related reading: Css Grid Auto Rows

High-altitude aerial photo showing grid layout of Monopoli, Italy's residential district.
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Computed values are normalized to used pixel values, which means they're adjusted to reflect the actual size of the grid tracks. Any duplicate names in the computed value are removed, and user agents may use the repeat syntax to avoid long strings due to implicit grid track creation or other factors.

Cell-Stacking Property

The grid-cell-stacking property is a game-changer for organizing content in Grid Cells. It determines the stacking direction of Grid Items within a Grid Cell.

Grid Items can be stacked in either the 'columns' or 'rows' direction, depending on the value of the grid-cell-stacking property. The 'columns' value stacks Grid Items one after the other in the inline direction, while the 'rows' value stacks them one after the other in the direction of block progression.

The order that Grid Items are stacked is determined by source order, which means that the order in which they appear in the HTML code will determine their stacking order. If you want Grid Items to be layered on top of each other, you can use the 'layer' value for the grid-cell-stacking property.

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Here are the possible values for the grid-cell-stacking property:

If you're using the 'layer' value, the order of the Grid Items is determined by the grid-layer property. If two or more Grid Items have the same value for grid-layer, source order will determine which one is layered first.

The grid-cell-stacking property also affects how alignment properties are applied to Grid Items. If the property is set to 'columns', the grid-row-align property will operate normally, but the grid-column-align property will be ignored. If the property is set to 'rows', the opposite is true.

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Grid Layout

Grid Layout is a powerful tool in CSS that allows you to create complex layouts using a simple and intuitive syntax.

By using grid, you can easily create a layout with multiple rows and columns, and even span elements across multiple rows or columns.

Grid Layout is especially useful for creating responsive designs, as it allows you to create a layout that adapts to different screen sizes and devices.

Placing Items

Credit: youtube.com, CSS Grid Layout // Placing Items on the Grid

Placing items in a Grid Layout is a breeze once you understand the basics. The properties grid-row and grid-column are used to place Grid Items and explicitly defined Grid Cells in the Grid.

The grid-column property is used to specify the placement of a Grid Item. Its value can be an integer, a string, 'start', or 'end', and can be used in combination with another value. The initial value is 'auto', and it applies to Grid Item elements.

You can use grid-column to place a Grid Item in a specific position within the Grid. For example, you can use the value '1' to place a Grid Item in the first column.

The grid-row property is similar to grid-column, but it's used to specify the placement of a Grid Item in a row. Its value can also be an integer, a string, 'start', or 'end', and can be used in combination with another value.

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Here's a quick summary of the possible values for grid-column and grid-row:

Remember, the initial value for both properties is 'auto', and they apply to Grid Item elements.

Floating Bar Chart

Floating bar charts can be created using CSS Grid, which is often thought of as a tool for layout structure.

A floating bar chart can be visualized as a grid, where each bar spans from a certain row to another to show the range it marks in the chart.

The grid layout can be established using CSS Grid placement properties, such as specifying the size and position of the bars.

To create a grid for a floating bar chart, you can write the following code, which is an example of how to use CSS Grid for more than just layout structure.

Grid Alignment

Grid alignment is crucial for creating visually appealing and functional layouts. You can align items along the row axis (left to right) with justify properties, and along the column axis (top to bottom) with align properties.

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The justify properties include justify-self, justify-items, and justify-content. These properties are typically defined on the parent container, but can also be overridden on the children.

The align properties include align-items, align-self, and place-items. Place-items is a powerful property that aligns items horizontally or vertically in one line.

Here are the alignment properties in a list:

  • justify-self
  • justify-items
  • justify-content
  • align-items
  • align-self
  • place-items

These properties make it easy to create complex layouts, even with elements of varying sizes.

Grid Template

Grid Template is a powerful tool in CSS Grid that allows you to define the structure of your grid by referencing the names of grid areas specified with the grid-area property.

You can create a grid template by listing the names of the grid areas, separated by spaces. If you want the content to span multiple cells, simply repeat the name of the grid area. A period (.) signifies an empty cell, and can be used to create multiple empty cells by stringing them together without spaces.

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To define a grid template, each row in your declaration needs to have the same number of cells. If you want to create a grid that's four columns wide by three rows tall, like the example shows, you can do so by listing the names of the grid areas in a repeating pattern.

Template-Columns

Grid template columns are defined using the `grid-template-columns` property, which takes a space-separated list of values. Each value represents the track size, with the space between them representing the grid line.

You can use various units to specify the track size, including length, percentage, or fraction of the free space in the grid using the `fr` unit. For example, `1fr` sets the size of a track as one third the width of the grid container.

Grid lines are automatically assigned positive numbers, but you can choose to explicitly name them. To do this, use the bracket syntax for the line names, like `row1-end` and `row2-start`. This allows you to reference multiple lines by their line name and count.

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If your definition contains repeating parts, you can use the `repeat()` notation to streamline things. For instance, `repeat(2, 1fr)` is equivalent to `1fr 1fr`. This saves you from having to write out the same value multiple times.

Here's a summary of the track size units:

  • Length: a specific measurement, like `50px`
  • Percentage: a percentage of the grid container's width, like `25%`
  • Fraction: a fraction of the free space in the grid, like `1fr`

Keep in mind that the free space is calculated after any non-flexible items, so the `fr` unit only takes into account the flexible space available.

Grid Browser Support

Grid Browser Support is crucial to consider when working with CSS Grid Row Span. Chrome, for example, has supported grid-row since version 57.

If you're using Chrome or Edge, you're good to go, as both browsers have full support for grid-row. Firefox also supports it, but only if you enable experimental features.

In contrast, Internet Explorer does not support grid-row at all. If you're working on a project that needs to be compatible with older browsers, this is something to keep in mind.

Credit: youtube.com, Work with CSS Grid Lines Using Grid Column Start and Grid Row Start

Here's a quick rundown of grid-row support across different browsers:

Grid Syntax

Grid syntax is quite straightforward. You can declare a single value, which applies to the grid-row-start property and sets the grid-row-end property to auto.

To set both grid-row-start and grid-row-end properties, you separate the two values with a forward slash (/). The value before the slash sets the grid-row-start property, while the value after the slash sets the grid-row-end property.

CSS vs. CSS: Which to Use?

CSS grid shines when you need to create complex layouts, such as masonry layouts, with elements of varying sizes.

For these types of layouts, CSS grid is often a better tool than flexbox, as it requires less complex code and is easier to maintain.

CSS grid's grid-template-areas, grid lines, and grid-spanning features give you fine-grained control over the position of each individual element on the page.

This level of control can be achieved with flexbox, but it usually requires more lines of code, making it trickier to work with over time.

CSS grid is also a better choice when you need to move elements around, regardless of the structure of the HTML markup.

In these cases, CSS grid's flexibility allows you to easily rearrange elements without having to rewrite your code.

Explore further: Css Flex vs Grid

Ann Predovic

Lead Writer

Ann Predovic is a seasoned writer with a passion for crafting informative and engaging content. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for research, she has established herself as a go-to expert in various fields, including technology and software. Her writing career has taken her down a path of exploring complex topics, making them accessible to a broad audience.

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