Horizontally centering/evenly distributed <li> inside of <ul> inside a <div>

Question 1

Horizontally centering/evenly distributed <li> inside of <ul> inside a <div>

css centering

Josh K · Jul 15, 2010 · Viewed 67.6k times · Source

Answer

Answer

This allows a widthless centered dynamic ul if you don't want to specify 90% width:

<!doctype html>
<div class="navbar">
    <div id="for-ie">
        <ul>
            <li><a href="Home">Home</a></li>
            <li><a href="Discounts">Discounts</a></li>
            <li><a href="Contact">Contact Us</a></li>
            <li><a href="About">About Us</a></li>
        </ul>
    </div>
</div>
<style>
.navbar {
    width: 100%;
    margin-left: auto ;
    margin-right: auto ;
    background-color: #ABCDEF;
}
.navbar ul {
    list-style-type: none; /*to remove bullets*/
    text-align: center;
    margin: 0 auto;
    padding: 0px;
    border:1px solid red;
    display:table;
    overflow: hidden;
}
.navbar li{
    float: left;
    padding: 2px;
    width: 150px;
    margin-left: auto ;
    margin-right: auto ;
}
</style>
<!--[if IE]>
<style>
    #for-ie { text-align:center; }
    #for-ie ul { display:inline-block; }
    #for-ie ul { display:inline; }
</style>
<![endif]-->

Tested in IE6, FX 3.

EDIT: Alternate style without the extraneous element:

<!doctype html>
<div class="navbar">
    <ul>
        <li><a href="Home">Home</a></li>
        <li><a href="Discounts">Discounts</a></li>
        <li><a href="Contact">Contact Us</a></li>
        <li><a href="About">About Us</a></li>
    </ul>
</div>
<style>
.navbar {
    width: 100%;
    margin-left: auto ;
    margin-right: auto ;
    background-color: #ABCDEF;
}
.navbar ul {
    list-style-type: none; /*to remove bullets*/
    text-align: center;
    padding: 0px;
    zoom:1;
    border:1px solid red;
    overflow: hidden;
}
.navbar li{
    padding: 2px;
    width: 150px;
    display:inline-block;
}
</style>
<!--[if IE]>
<style>
    .navbar li { display:inline; }
</style>
<![endif]-->

Question 2

Have a Navbar <div>, inside is a <ul> and each <li> contains a <a> with a link (this is for a navigation bar)

I looked on google and this site and i couldnt find exactly what i was looking for.

What i want is to be able to keep my current style (using <li> with <a>'s inside) and i want the <li> to be evenly distributed and centered (this part comes naturally if they are evenly distributed...) inside the <ul> (which is inside the navbar <div>).

Anyways if that doesnt make sense let me know, currently they are just left aligned...Heres what i have:

HTML:

<div class="navbar">
  <ul>
    <li><a href="Home">Home</a></li>
    <li><a href="Discounts">Discounts</a></li>
    <li><a href="Contact">Contact Us</a></li>
    <li><a href="About">About Us</a></li>
  </ul>
</div>

CSS:

.navbar {
    width: 100%;
    margin-left: auto ;
    margin-right: auto ;
    background-color: #ABCDEF;
}
.navbar ul {
    list-style-type: none; /*to remove bullets*/
    text-align: center;
    margin: 0px;
    padding: 0px;
    width: 90%;
    overflow: hidden;
}
.navbar li{
    float: left;
    padding: 2px;
    width: 150px;
    margin-left: auto ;
    margin-right: auto ;
}

I can also include my .navbar a{} if that is neccesary. I am very new to CSS so go easy, also I did look all over SO and Google first and couldnt find anything quite like this (Although maybe since I am new i dont realize its the same).

If this is a faulty CSS method and/or there is a much easier, more commonly used way of doing this. Go ahead and link/post that instead, but i would prefer this way as it makes most sense to me.

Thanks

Horizontally centering/evenly distributed <li> inside of <ul> inside a <div>

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