814
votes

Is there a more flexbox-ish way to right-align "Contact" than to use position: absolute?

.main {
  display: flex;
}

.a,
.b,
.c {
  background: #efefef;
  border: 1px solid #999;
}

.b {
  flex: 1;
  text-align: center;
}

.c {
  position: absolute;
  right: 0;
}
<h2>With title</h2>
<div class="main">
  <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
  <div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>
  <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>

<h2>Without title</h2>
<div class="main">
  <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
  <!--<div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>-->
  <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>

http://jsfiddle.net/vqDK9/

13
you can use float right, but it's the same way...! The best way is to use a display table with text-align. - Yohann Tilotti
Sure, if that's better. Still having trouble right-aligning "Contact" though: jsfiddle.net/vqDK9/1 - Mark Boulder
I updated your fiddle jsfiddle.net/vqDK9/2 - Yohann Tilotti
Here are at least two ways to do it: stackoverflow.com/a/33856609/3597276 - Michael Benjamin
Attention: The second answer has much more up-votes than the first answer. - guettli

13 Answers

1228
votes

A more flex approach would be to use an auto left margin (flex items treat auto margins a bit differently than when used in a block formatting context).

.c {
    margin-left: auto;
}

Updated fiddle:

.main { display: flex; }
.a, .b, .c { background: #efefef; border: 1px solid #999; }
.b { flex: 1; text-align: center; }
.c {margin-left: auto;}
<h2>With title</h2>
<div class="main">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
    <div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>
<h2>Without title</h2>
<div class="main">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
    <!--<div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>-->
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>
<h1>Problem</h1>
<p>Is there a more flexbox-ish way to right align "Contact" than to use position absolute?</p>
558
votes

Here you go. Set justify-content: space-between on the flex container.

.main { 
    display: flex; 
    justify-content: space-between;
  }
.a, .b, .c { background: #efefef; border: 1px solid #999; }
.b { text-align: center; }
<h2>With title</h2>
<div class="main">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
    <div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>
<h2>Without title</h2>
<div class="main">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
<!--     <div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div> -->
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>
49
votes

If you want to use flexbox for this, you should be able to, by doing this (display: flex on the container, flex: 1 on the items, and text-align: right on .c):

.main { display: flex; }
.a, .b, .c {
    background: #efefef;
    border: 1px solid #999;
    flex: 1;
}
.b { text-align: center; }
.c { text-align: right; }

...or alternatively (even simpler), if the items don't need to meet, you can use justify-content: space-between on the container and remove the text-align rules completely:

.main { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; }
.a, .b, .c { background: #efefef; border: 1px solid #999; }

Here's a demo on Codepen to allow you to quickly try the above.

49
votes

You can also use a filler to fill the remaining space.

<div class="main">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
    <div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>
    <div class="filler"></div>
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>

.filler{
    flex-grow: 1;
}

I have updated the solution with 3 different versions. This because of the discussion of the validity of using an additional filler element. If you run the code snipped you see that all solutions do different things. For instance setting the filler class on item b will make this item fill the remaining space. This has the benefit that there is no 'dead' space that is not clickable.

<div class="mainfiller">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
    <div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>
    <div class="filler"></div>
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>

<div class="mainfiller">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
    <div class="filler b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>

<div class="main">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
    <div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>

<style>
.main { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; }
.mainfiller{display: flex;}
.filler{flex-grow:1; text-align:center}
.a, .b, .c { background: yellow; border: 1px solid #999; }
</style>
46
votes

Or you could just use justify-content: flex-end

.main { display: flex; }
.c { justify-content: flex-end; }
25
votes

As easy as

.main {
    display: flex;
    flex-direction:row-reverse;
}
15
votes

Add the following CSS class to your stylesheet:

.my-spacer {
    flex: 1 1 auto;
}

Place an empty element between the element on the left and the element you wish to right-align:

<span class="my-spacer"></span>

9
votes

If you need one item to be left aligned (like a header) but then multiple items right aligned (like 3 images), then you would do something like this:

h1 {
   flex-basis: 100%; // forces this element to take up any remaining space
}

img {
   margin: 0 5px; // small margin between images
   height: 50px; // image width will be in relation to height, in case images are large - optional if images are already the proper size
}

Here's what that will look like (only relavent CSS was included in snippet above)

enter image description here

9
votes

'justify-content: flex-end' worked within price box container.

.price-box {
    justify-content: flex-end;
}
9
votes

margin-left: auto works well. But clean flex box solution would be space-between in the main class. Space between works well if there is two or more elements. I have added a solution for single element as well.

.main { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; }
.a, .b, .c { background: #efefef; border: 1px solid #999; padding: 0.25rem; margin: 0.25rem;}
.b { flex: 1; text-align: center; }

.c-wrapper {
  display: flex;
  flex: 1;
  justify-content: flex-end;
}

.c-wrapper2 {
  display: flex;
  flex: 1;
  flex-flow: row-reverse;
}
<div class="main">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
    <div class="b"><a href="#">Some title centered</a></div>
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>

<div class="main">
    <div class="a"><a href="#">Home</a></div>
    <div class="c"><a href="#">Contact</a></div>
</div>

<div class="main">
    <div class="c-wrapper">
      <a class="c" href="#">Contact</a>
      <a class="c" href="#">Contact2</a>
    </div>
</div>
<div class="main">
    <div class="c-wrapper2">
      <span class="c">Contact</span>
      <span class="c">Contact2</span>
    </div>
</div>
4
votes

I find that adding 'justify-content: flex-end' to the flex container solves the problem while 'justify-content: space-between' doesnt do anything.

3
votes

For those using Angular and Flex-Layout, use the following on the flex-item container:

<div fxLayout="row" fxLayoutAlign="flex-end">

See fxLayoutAlign docs here and the full fxLayout docs here.

0
votes

Example code based on answer by TetraDev

Images on right:

* {
  outline: .4px dashed red;
}

.main {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: row;
  align-items: center;
}

h1 {
  flex-basis: 100%;
}

img {
  margin: 0 5px;
  height: 30px;
}
<div class="main">
  <h1>Secure Payment</h1>
  <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/i65gn.png">
  <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/i65gn.png">
</div>

Images on left:

* {
  outline: .4px dashed red;
}

.main {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: row;
  align-items: center;
}

h1 {
  flex-basis: 100%;
  text-align: right;
}

img {
  margin: 0 5px;
  height: 30px;
}
<div class="main">
  <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/i65gn.png">
  <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/i65gn.png">
  <h1>Secure Payment</h1>
</div>