How to Add Space Between Your Active List Item and Underline in CSS

Описание: Discover how to get the perfect spacing between your active list items and their underlines using CSS techniques like `outline` and `clip-path`.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/75164955/ asked by the user 'JDawwgy' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/19140003/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/75165153/ provided by the user 'Temani Afif' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/8620333/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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How to Add Space Between Your Active List Item and Underline in CSS

If you're working on styling a list for your website, you might encounter a common design challenge: how to create space between an active item and its underline while keeping the underline visually appealing and linked to the active state of the item. In this guide, we will discuss how to address this issue effectively and stylishly.

Understanding the Problem

Imagine you have a horizontal list of items, and one of these items is selected as active. Typically, you'd want to visually indicate this active item with an underline. However, if the item has a background color and padding, the underline may end up being too close to the block, obscuring the visual distinction you're trying to create. This can lead to a cluttered look that detracts from the user experience.

To illustrate, here is an overview of what you might currently have with your list items:

Current State: The active item is underlined directly below the block, making it look cramped.

Desired State: You want a clear space between the active item and its underline, while still maintaining the underline's link to the active class.

Proposed Solution

Here's a solution that uses CSS properties creatively to achieve the desired space. Instead of relying on a traditional border property for the underline, we'll make use of the outline and clip-path properties. This allows us to create a separation between the item and the underline visually without compromising the design.

Step-by-Step Guide

Basic Structure: Your HTML structure remains the same, with a simple list of items:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

CSS Setup: Here's how to modify your CSS to implement the solution effectively:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

How it Works

Outline: This property adds a border-like effect around the active list item. By adjusting the outline and outline-offset, you create the needed space between the item and the underline.

Clip-Path: This CSS feature allows you to define a specific area of your list item that should display. The use of a negative value ensures that the outline appears correctly without covering essential parts of your layout.

Final Thoughts

Utilizing CSS properties like outline and clip-path opens up new design possibilities for web developers. They provide a clean and polished look while maintaining the desired functionality of your UI elements. This method gives you the control you need to style your active list items with style and ease.

By implementing these tips, you can significantly improve the visual spacing of active items on your lists without losing the essential functionality of the underline.

With the right techniques in your toolkit, creating visually appealing web components becomes much more achievable!