The code:
<div
id="theMainDiv"
style="
border:solid 1px gray;
cursor:text;
width:400px;
padding:0px;"
>
<span
id="tag1_outer"
style="
background:#e2e6f0;
padding-right:4px;
padding-left:4px;
border:solid 1px #9daccc;
font:normal 11px arial;
color:#3c3c3c"
>as</span>
</div>
As it renders now, the span is align the bottom-left corner of the div.
See my article on understanding vertical alignment. There are multiple techniques to accomplish what you want at the end of the discussion.
(Super-short summary: either set the line-height of the child equal to the height of the container, or set positioning on the container and absolutely position the child at top:50%
with margin-top:-YYYpx
, YYY being half the known height of the child.)