Why Are My Absolutely Positioned Elements Stacking Vertically Instead of Horizontally?

Absolute Elements Stacking Vertically Instead of Horizontally

In CSS, positioning elements with absolute positioning can lead to unexpected stacking behaviors. To understand why absolute elements are stacking on top of each other instead of side by side, let's delve into the fundamentals of CSS positioning.

Relative vs. Absolute Positioning

When an element is positioned with position: relative, it maintains its position in the normal document flow, but can be shifted using top, right, bottom, or left properties. Elements with relative positioning do not affect the layout of surrounding elements.

In contrast, an element with position: absolute is removed from the document flow and becomes positioned relative to its containing element or the nearest positioned ancestor. Absolute elements occupy their own space and no longer interact with other elements in the flow.

In Your Example

In your code, both #row1 and #row2 have absolute positioning, making them independent of the document flow. As these elements are both children of the absolutely positioned .container, they are positioned relative to it. Since #row1 is positioned before #row2, it appears on top of it.

Solving the Issue

To display #row1 and #row2 vertically, you need to remove the absolute positioning from these elements and apply it to their containing element, .container. This allows the rows to behave like normal block elements, vertically stacking one below the other.

.container {
  position: absolute;
}

.row {
  position: static;
}

Understanding CSS Positions

To further clarify, let's explore the different CSS position values:

• static: Elements remain in the normal document flow.
• relative: Elements retain their position in the flow but can be moved using top, right, bottom, or left properties.
• absolute: Elements are removed from the flow and positioned relative to their containing element or nearest positioned ancestor.
• fixed: Elements are removed from the flow and positioned relative to the viewport.

By understanding how CSS positioning works, you can effectively control the layout and stacking of elements on your web pages.

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