align-items

Definition

In CSS, align-items is a property that defines how the browser aligns elements along the cross-axis of a flex container, which is the vertical axis by default. It has no effect on the main-axis, which is the horizontal axis.

Examples

Here are some examples of how the different values of align-items can be used:

.container {
  display: flex;
  align-items: flex-start;
}

This will align the flex items to the start of the flex container, which is equivalent to the top for a flex container with a vertical orientation.

.container {
  display: flex;
  align-items: flex-end;
}

This will align the flex items to the end of the flex container, which is equivalent to the bottom for a flex container with a vertical orientation.

.container {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
}

This will center the flex items within the flex container.

.container {
  display: flex;
  align-items: stretch;
}

This will stretch the flex items to fill the flex container.

.container {
  display: flex;
  align-items: baseline;
}

This will align the flex items along their baselines.

Values

Best Practices

Here are some best practices for using align-items:

1. Use align-items to align a group of flex items within a flex container. It has no effect on single flex items.
2. Use align-items to align the flex items to the start, end, or center of the flex container.
3. Use align-items to stretch the flex items to fill the flex container.
4. Use align-items to align the flex items along their baselines.
5. Use align-items in combination with justify-content to achieve the desired alignment and distribution of flex items within a flex container.

Here is an example of how align-items and justify-content can be used together:

.container {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: space-between;
}

Compatibility

align-items is a CSS property that is supported in all modern browsers, including Internet Explorer 11.

You can use align-items in your web projects without worrying about browser compatibility issues. However, if you need to support older browsers that do not support align-items, you can use a feature detection library like Modernizr to detect whether the align-items property is supported, and provide a fallback solution if it is not.

Here is an example of how you can use Modernizr to detect align-items support:

if (Modernizr.cssalignitems) {
  // The browser supports align-items
  // Use align-items in your CSS as needed
} else {
  // The browser does not support align-items
  // Use a fallback solution or polyfill as needed
}

Note that align-items is only supported in flexbox layouts. If you are using a layout method that does not support flexbox, align-items will not be available. }