Barney Carroll wrote: > I know this list isn't particularly keen on conceptual problems but I > have this notion that I can't conceive of without overflow on a > containing element which then comes round to bite me in the face.
Conceptual problems are certainly more interesting to work on than the flow of browser- and designer-bugs we're mostly dealing with on css-d. I'll stay out of the actual case, as you haven't presented a document to work on. Also, it seems like you have limited your options a bit too much by trying to plug a specific menu-solution into a specific layout-solution. Yes, it seems like you'll end up "extending into nowhere" with your combination. I think you have at least a couple of options. 1: Layouts that are not relying on excessive paddings, negative margins and 'overflow: hidden', are more suitable for that particular menu-solution - as you have noticed already. Myself, I don't use that layout-solution for "real" layouts, because of all the limitations it puts on what I can do inside it, and all the browser bugs/variations one may run into when challenging it a bit. So, the easiest solution (IMO) is to use another layout-solution - one that doesn't rely on 'overflow: hidden'. I still prefer variations of... <http://www.alistapart.com/articles/negativemargins/> ...as it's the most "solid" base I've found to date. CSS tables would be a better solution in many cases... <http://www.gunlaug.no/tos/moa_11.html> ...but Internet Explorer doesn't support the CSS2.1 standard properly yet, so that'll have to wait. 2: It's a misconception that 'absolute positioning' is needed to create fly-outs on a menu. 'A:P' is perfect for the invisible state, but 'partly removed floats' can be ideal for the visual/:hover state. 'Partly removed floats' do have as much effect on their parents as we want them to - the 'removed' part doesn't but the remaining part does. What this means is that by having a menu that expands when sub-menu levels are appearing on :hover, you can create a menu that expands with its visible sub-menus and pushes the layout deeper and/or wider when needed. You decide which direction and how much, by controlling how much of the sub-menu that is 'removed from the flow'. You don't even need floating sub-menus for this to work, you only need a floating 'partly removed' menu-container and some 'stacking control'. The simplest - only vertically expanding - menus won't need floats at all, and they only need 'A:P' for sub-menus' invisible state. So, in case you need something more to trigger your imagination, the following example of 'nested and removed floats' may be of some use... <http://www.gunlaug.no/contents/wd_demo_float_02.html> The demo is a bit old, but neither the standards nor the browsers have changed much in the time that has passed. regards Georg -- http://www.gunlaug.no ______________________________________________________________________ css-discuss [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.css-discuss.org/mailman/listinfo/css-d IE7 information -- http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=IE7 List wiki/FAQ -- http://css-discuss.incutio.com/ Supported by evolt.org -- http://www.evolt.org/help_support_evolt/
