How to overlay a div (or any element) over a table row (tr)?

Question

I'd like to overlay a div (or any element that'll work) over a table row (tr tag) that happens to have more than one column.

I have tried a few methods, which don't seem to work. I've posted my current code below.

I do get an overlay, but not directly over just the row. I tried setting the overlay top to $divBottom.css('top'), but that is always 'auto'.

So, am I on the right track, or is there a better way of doing it? Utilizing jQuery is fine as you can see.

If I am on the right track, how do I get the div placed correctly? Is the offsetTop an offset in the containing element, the table, and I need to do some math? Any other gotchas I'll run into with that?

Answer 1

You need to make the overlay div have an absolute position. Also use the position() jQuery method for top and left positions of the row - here are the missing pieces:

var rowPos = $divBottom.position();
bottomTop = rowPos.top;
bottomLeft = rowPos.left;

//
$divOverlay.css({
    position: 'absolute',
    top: bottomTop,
    left: bottomLeft,
    width: bottomWidth,
    height: bottomHeight
});