Responsive break out of parent element

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them

Albert Einstein

Update!

Please consider using this calc based method instead (without the need of a wrapping element :-)

The problem

Making a child element break out of its parent container is a thing that almost always causes a world of pain, a messy stylesheet and a bad developer-designer relationship.

In general you are left with one of two choices:

Make the widths larger than 100%, try to counter the wrapping padding and add media queries to fix the negative margins when the content starts to overflow the viewport.
Target all the nested elements individually (.container > *), create a faux or pseudo-element background on the wrapper and don't forget the media queries.

The Solution

Rather than focusing on the parent and or trying keep track of all the child elements – take the evil wrapper pill and swallow your pride. Visual explanation


      <main>
            <article>
            <h1>Lorem ipsum</h1>
            <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</p>
      
       <div class="breakout">
                <img src="image.jpg" />
                </div>
      
      <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.</p>      
            </article>
            </main>

The wrapper:


     /**
        * 1 Position the wrapper relative to the parent element 
        * 2 Make the wrapper fit the content height 
        * 3 Set the width to match the width of the viewport (100vm) 
        * 4 Push the wapper to the center of the parent element
        * 
        * Note! Remember to add html,body { overflow-x:hidden; } to 
        *       prevent horizontal scrolling 
        *
        * Note! If the left and right padding of your wrapper are
        *       not the same – adjust the .breakout margin-left
        *
     
      breakout-margin-left: (wrapper-padding-right - wrapper-padding-left)/2
     
     */ 
        .breakout {
        position:relative;
        display:table;
        width:100vw; 
        left:50%;
        }

The content:


     /**
        * Generic content style 
        * 1 Position the content relative to the wrapper 
        * 2 Center the content  
        * 3 Pull the content -50% to the left and hereby 
        *   back to the center of the page 
        */ 
        .breakout > * {
        position:relative;
        margin-left:auto; 
        margin-right:auto; 
        left:-50%;
        }


        /**
        * Custom content style
        * Note! min-width will cause cropping 
        */
        .breakout > img {
        display:block;
        width:100%;
        max-width:960px;
        min-width:320px;
        }

The bug and the fixes:

Sadly browsers sucks at handling vm units - especially mobile ie6 incarnated (Safari on iOS7)... and once again we have to ~~turn to JavaScript.~~ make workarounds

As of October 19, 2015 91% of iDevices are running iOS8+

Media Query Fix:

Benjamin Morel made a mixin to handle viewport units on iOS 7 that produces the following queries:


     @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1) and (device-width: 768px) and (device-height: 1024px) and (orientation: portrait) {
        .breakout { width: 768px; }
        }
        @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1) and (device-width: 768px) and (device-height: 1024px) and (orientation: landscape) {
        .breakout { width: 1024px; }
        }
        @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1) and (device-width: 320px) and (device-height: 480px) and (orientation: portrait) {
        .breakout { width: 320px; }
        }
        @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1) and (device-width: 320px) and (device-height: 480px) and (orientation: landscape) {
        .breakout { width: 480px; }
        }
        @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1) and (device-width: 320px) and (device-height: 568px) and (orientation: portrait) {
        .breakout { width: 320px; }
        }
        @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1) and (device-width: 320px) and (device-height: 568px) and (orientation: landscape) {
        .breakout { width: 568px; }
        }

JavaScript Fix:


     <script>

        function vwFix(){
        var ww = window.innerWidth + 'px';
        var el = document.getElementsByClassName('breakout');
        for(var i=0,l=el.length;i<l;++i){ el[i].style.width =  ww; }
        };
        vwFix();
        window.addEventListener('resize', vwFix);      


        // ...or if you prefer jQuery
        $(window).on('resize',function(){
        $('.breakout').width(window.innerWidth);
        }).trigger('resize');

        </script>