Can I change the "justify-content" value depending on the number of elements in the flex container?

Question

I am working on an image gallery on a legacy site. I can't use anything other than regular old HTML/jQuery or JS/CSS. I know this would be a lot easier with Bootstrap or some grid library.

I'm building it with flexbox. There are four images in each row, with multiple rows. It looks great when each row has its four images. When it has 2 or 3, because I am using justify-content: space-between, it makes it look weird because of the big gap between the images.

The reason I'm using space-between is that I want the images to align to the left of the parent container, and also to the right.

Some notes:

Each flex item has a max-width of 150px
I want a margin between items, but I don't care if this margin changes as the viewport width changes
the flex container has a max width that only allows four 150px-wide items in a row

My question: if a row has less than a set # of elements (in this case four), can I change the justify-content to be something more appropriate, like flex-start?

Ideally, I want to do this without JavaScript/jQuery, but if that's impossible, I'm open to those solutions as well.

Also, feel free to let me know if I'm way overthinking this and don't even need to use justify-content: space-between. Here's a working example:

/* outer container */
.flex-container {
  padding: 24px 0;
  background: white;
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  max-width: 700px; /* or whatever */
  
  /* flex props */
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
  justify-content: space-between;
}

/* contains img block and title */
.thumb-grid {
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  width: 150px;
  margin-bottom: 36px;
}

.thumb-grid:first-of-type { margin-left: 0; }
.thumb-grid:nth-of-type(4) { margin-right: 0; }

.thumb-grid p {
  text-align: center;
}

.img-block {
  background: black;
  height: 150px;
}

.img-block img {
  height: 150px;
  opacity: 1;
  transition: opacity 150ms;
}

.img-block:hover img {
  opacity: .9;
}

<div class="flex-container">
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 1</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 2</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 3</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">
      <div class="img-block">       
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 4</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 5</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 6</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 7</p>      
    </div>
    
  </div>

If you can use JavaScript/jQuery, why can't you use Bootstrap or another library? — TylerH, Sep 06 '17 at 21:36
@TylerH It's just overkill for what I need. This is one page in like 50+ on the site. — intrepid_em, Sep 06 '17 at 21:43
Possible duplicate of [Flex-box: Align last row to grid](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18744164/flex-box-align-last-row-to-grid) — cjl750, Sep 06 '17 at 21:52
[This answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/38932936/6656062) seems to solve the problem. — cjl750, Sep 06 '17 at 21:53
@cjl750 If you test both those solutions with the code here, you'll see neither will work, mainly because this code have a width set for the items and actual create a _gap between_. If to make a markup change the first you linked could be used though, but then you need to deal with equal height for the actual items instead. — Asons, Sep 07 '17 at 07:11
@LGSon The solution I linked in the other comment to add a pseudo element *to the parent* works just fine – I did test it on this code, and in the situation of 4 items on the top line and 3 on the second line, the second line is justified left. Otherwise, it functions exactly the same in all other circumstances. So it fixes OP's problem and doesn't change anything else about how his code already works: it's perfect. OP has already stated `I don't care about the margin size between the items`. — cjl750, Sep 07 '17 at 14:13
I updated my question. I don't care about the size of the margins, but I DO want margins. — intrepid_em, Sep 07 '17 at 14:15

Rob M. · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-06T21:52:54.673

Depending on what you need to support, it might make more sense to use CSS grid layouts (as TylerH pointed out, CSS Grids do not have universal browser support). Check the documentation for further info: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/CSS_Grid_Layout

.flex-container {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr);
  grid-gap: 10px;
  grid-auto-rows: minmax(100px, auto);
}

<div class="flex-container">
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 1</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 2</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 3</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">
      <div class="img-block">       
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 4</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 5</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 6</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 7</p>      
    </div>
    
  </div>

This is interesting. I'll look into seeing if this is what I need. I've never used it. — intrepid_em, Sep 06 '17 at 21:46
@kauffee000 Be aware that Microsoft Edge does not fully support grid layout yet (though it will in a month or two). Also, IE does not support this implementation of grid layout, but IE11 does support an older (different) implementation. Just a warning for production environments. — TylerH, Sep 06 '17 at 21:49
Thanks for the note @TylerH, updated my answer to reflect the non-universal support — Rob M., Sep 06 '17 at 21:53
This is actually working really well for me, but I had to add my gutters. I'll have to work on the responsiveness of it, but it's a start. Thanks! [working bin](http://jsbin.com/huduqih/edit?css,output) — intrepid_em, Sep 07 '17 at 11:49

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 06 '17 at 21:32

How about using margin instead of justify-content:space-between to get the spacing?

/* outer container */
.flex-container {
  padding: 24px 0;
  background: white;
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  max-width: 700px; /* or whatever */
  
  /* flex props */
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
  justify-content:center;
}

/* contains img block and title */
.thumb-grid {
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  width: 150px;
  margin: 0 12px 36px;
}

.thumb-grid:first-of-type { margin-left: 0; }
.thumb-grid:nth-of-type(4) { margin-right: 0; }

.thumb-grid p {
  text-align: center;
}

.img-block {
  background: black;
  height: 150px;
}

.img-block img {
  height: 150px;
  opacity: 1;
  transition: opacity 150ms;
}

.img-block:hover img {
  opacity: .9;
}

<div class="flex-container">
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 1</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 2</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 3</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">
      <div class="img-block">       
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 4</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 5</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 6</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 7</p>      
    </div>
    
  </div>

OP mentions they want unfilled rows to be left- and right-aligned, not centered: `The reason I'm using space-between is that I want the images to align to the left of the parent container, and also to the right.` — TylerH, Sep 06 '17 at 21:46

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 07 '17 at 13:17

1

For this layout use CSS grid. Your original problem won't even exist then. You won't need any workaround or hacks, JavaScript, or any weird stuff to make it work. With CSS grid layout you'll easily achieve what you need with elegant and maintainable code.

CSS grid layout is a kind of new CSS feature, and it's actually the first legit way of doing layout, which is awesome. Read about it:

For your case, especially take a look at the auto-fill or auto-fit properties. Here's another useful link: https://gridbyexample.com/examples/example37/.

And here's a quick example of what you want to achieve using CSS grid: https://codepen.io/anon/pen/YxbexQ?editors=1100. See how it react to different screen/container width. It just works.

edited Sep 07 '17 at 13:17

TylerH

20,799
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answered Sep 06 '17 at 21:47

kamyl

5,938
4
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29

1

`Flexbox isn't really created for layout.` This is just wrong. Flexbox is literally a layout module. – TylerH Sep 06 '17 at 21:47
Nope. Flexbox is just 1-dimensional, while Css grids 2-dimensional. Layout is 2-dimensional. ;] – kamyl Sep 06 '17 at 21:49
1

Please see the *name of the module*: https://www.w3.org/TR/css-flexbox-1/ "CSS Flexible Box **Layout** Module Level 1" Emphasis mine – TylerH Sep 06 '17 at 21:50
Ok, I edited the answer. Still, the solution is the same, as this use-case is 2-dimensional layout. – kamyl Sep 07 '17 at 07:49

Asons · Answer 4 · 2017-09-07T13:24:01.407

Here is a solution you can use with Flexbox, which will provide a wider cross browser solution than CSS Grid can offer (today).

The main trick is to have ghost elements, 1 less than the amount of items per row.

They take up the same horizontal space as a regular item but have no height, and as such will push any number less than 4 to the left.

As we can use the pseudo elements, we in this case only need 1 extra element acting as a ghost

Stack snippet

/* outer container */
.flex-container {
  padding: 24px 0;
  background: white;
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  max-width: 700px; /* or whatever */
  
  /* flex props */
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
  justify-content: space-between;
}

/* contains img block and title */
.thumb-grid {
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  width: 150px;
  margin-bottom: 36px;
}

.thumb-grid:empty,               /*  the ghost elements  */
.flex-container::before,
.flex-container::after {
  content: '';
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,0);
  width: 150px;
  margin-bottom: 36px;
  order: 1;
}

.thumb-grid:first-of-type { margin-left: 0; }
.thumb-grid:nth-of-type(4) { margin-right: 0; }

.thumb-grid p {
  text-align: center;
}

.img-block {
  background: black;
  height: 150px;
}

.img-block img {
  height: 150px;
  opacity: 1;
  transition: opacity 150ms;
}

.img-block:hover img {
  opacity: .9;
}

<div class="flex-container">
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 1</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 2</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 3</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">
      <div class="img-block">       
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 4</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 5</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 6</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 7</p>      
    </div>


   <div class="thumb-grid"></div>

  </div>

If it is max 3 items per row, we only need the pseudo elements

/* outer container */
.flex-container {
  padding: 24px 0;
  background: white;
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  max-width: 550px; /* or whatever */
  
  /* flex props */
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
  justify-content: space-between;
}

/* contains img block and title */
.thumb-grid {
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  width: 150px;
  margin-bottom: 36px;
}

.flex-container::before, .flex-container::after {
  content: '';
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,0);
  width: 150px;
  margin-bottom: 36px;
  order: 1;
}


.thumb-grid:first-of-type { margin-left: 0; }
.thumb-grid:nth-of-type(4) { margin-right: 0; }

.thumb-grid p {
  text-align: center;
}

.img-block {
  background: black;
  height: 150px;
}

.img-block img {
  height: 150px;
  opacity: 1;
  transition: opacity 150ms;
}

.img-block:hover img {
  opacity: .9;
}

<div class="flex-container">
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 1</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 2</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 3</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">
      <div class="img-block">       
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 4</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 5</p>      
    </div>    
    
  </div>

If it can be a dynamic amount of item, like between 3-5, as long as we don't use fewer than 1 less than the max amount, it will work fine.

/* outer container */
.flex-container {
  padding: 24px 0;
  background: white;
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  max-width: 850px; /* or whatever */
  
  /* flex props */
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
  justify-content: space-between;
}

/* contains img block and title */
.thumb-grid {
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,.1);
  width: 150px;
  margin-bottom: 36px;
}

.thumb-grid:empty,               /*  the ghost elements  */
.flex-container::before,
.flex-container::after {
  content: '';
  border: solid 1px rgba(0,0,0,0);
  width: 150px;
  margin-bottom: 36px;
  order: 1;
}

.thumb-grid:first-of-type { margin-left: 0; }
.thumb-grid:nth-of-type(4) { margin-right: 0; }

.thumb-grid p {
  text-align: center;
}

.img-block {
  background: black;
  height: 150px;
}

.img-block img {
  height: 150px;
  opacity: 1;
  transition: opacity 150ms;
}

.img-block:hover img {
  opacity: .9;
}

<div class="flex-container">
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 1</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 2</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 3</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">
      <div class="img-block">       
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 4</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 5</p>      
    </div>
    
    <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">        
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 6</p>      
    </div>
    
   <div class="thumb-grid">      
      <div class="img-block">
        <a href=""><img src="https://www.expedient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/exp-mq-resouce-thumbnail-1-150x150.jpg" alt="example image"></a>        
      </div>      
      <p>Image 7</p>      
    </div>


   <div class="thumb-grid"></div>
   <div class="thumb-grid"></div>

  </div>

Can I change the "justify-content" value depending on the number of elements in the flex container?

4 Answers4

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