Question

Alright, I’m trying to buy into the idea that html tables should not be used, and that divs should be. However, I often have code that resembles the following

<table>
    <tr>
        <td>First Name:</td>
        <td colspan="2"><input  id="txtFirstName"/></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Last Name:</td>
        <td colspan="2"><input  type="text" id="txtLastName"/></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Address:</td>
        <td>
            <select type="text" id="ddlState">
                <option value="NY">NY</option>
                <option value="CA">CA</option>
            </select>
        </td>
        <td>
            <select type="text" id="ddlCountry">
                <option value="NY">USA</option>
                <option value="CA">CAN</option>
            </select>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table>

I want the labels to be aligned and I want the controls to be aligned. How would I do this without using tables?

Answer 1

This ought to do the trick.

<style>
div.block{
  overflow:hidden;
}
div.block label{
  width:160px;
  display:block;
  float:left;
  text-align:left;
}
div.block .input{
  margin-left:4px;
  float:left;
}
</style>

<div class="block">
  <label>First field</label>
  <input class="input" type="text" id="txtFirstName"/>
</div>
<div class="block">
  <label>Second field</label>
  <input class="input" type="text" id="txtLastName"/>
</div>

I hope you get the concept.