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- 1:
- 1.1: CSS Padding
- 1.2: CSS Variables
- 2:
1 -
1.1 - CSS Padding
The CSS padding
properties are used to generate space around an element’s content, inside of any defined borders.
With CSS, you have full control over the padding. There are properties for setting the padding for each side of an element (top, right, bottom, and left).
Padding - Individual Sides
CSS has properties for specifying the padding for each side of an element:
padding-top
padding-right
padding-bottom
padding-left
All the padding properties can have the following values:
- length - specifies a padding in px, pt, cm, etc.
- % - specifies a padding in % of the width of the containing element
- inherit - specifies that the padding should be inherited from the parent element Note: Negative values are not allowed.
Example
Set different padding for all four sides of a <div>
element:
div {
padding-top: 50px;
padding-right: 30px;
padding-bottom: 50px;
padding-left: 80px;
}
Padding - Shorthand Property
To shorten the code, it is possible to specify all the padding properties in one property.
The padding
property is a shorthand property for the following individual padding properties:
padding-top
padding-right
padding-bottom
padding-left
So, here is how it works:
If the padding
property has four values:
- padding: 25px 50px 75px 100px;
- top padding is 25px
- right padding is 50px
- bottom padding is 75px
- left padding is 100px
Example
Use the padding shorthand property with four values:
div {
padding: 25px 50px 75px 100px;
}
If the padding property has three values:
- padding: 25px 50px 75px;
- top padding is 25px
- right and left paddings are 50px
- bottom padding is 75px
Example
Use the padding shorthand property with three values:
div {
padding: 25px 50px 75px;
}
1.2 - CSS Variables
The var()
function is used to insert the value of a CSS variable.
CSS variables have access to the DOM, which means that you can create variables with local or global scope, change the variables with JavaScript, and change the variables based on media queries.
A good way to use CSS variables is when it comes to the colors of your design. Instead of copy and paste the same colors over and over again, you can place them in variables.
The Traditional Way
The following example shows the traditional way of defining some colors in a style sheet (by defining the colors to use, for each specific element):
Example
body { background-color: #1e90ff; }
h2 { border-bottom: 2px solid #1e90ff; }
.container {
color: #1e90ff;
background-color: #ffffff;
padding: 15px;
}
button {
background-color: #ffffff;
color: #1e90ff;
border: 1px solid #1e90ff;
padding: 5px;
}
How var() Works
First of all: CSS variables can have a global or local scope.
Global variables can be accessed/used through the entire document, while local variables can be used only inside the selector where it is declared.
To create a variable with global scope, declare it inside the :root
selector. The :root
selector matches the document’s root element.
To create a variable with local scope, declare it inside the selector that is going to use it.
The following example is equal to the example above, but here we use the var()
function.
First, we declare two global variables (–blue and –white). Then, we use the var()
function to insert the value of the variables later in the style sheet:
Example
:root {
--blue: #1e90ff;
--white: #ffffff;
}
body { background-color: var(--blue); }
h2 { border-bottom: 2px solid var(--blue); }
.container {
color: var(--blue);
background-color: var(--white);
padding: 15px;
}
button {
background-color: var(--white);
color: var(--blue);
border: 1px solid var(--blue);
padding: 5px;
}