Styling group headers within an unordered list using pure CSS - possible?

Question

Styling group headers within an unordered list using pure CSS - possible?

Hey there, I'm looking to spruce up my UL by adding group headers.

Here's a sneak peek at the structure I have in mind (keep in mind this is generated dynamically from a database):

<ul>
  <li class='group group-1'>
    <div>Group 1</div>
    ABC
  </li>
  <li class='group group-1'>
    <div>Group 1</div>
    DEF
  </li>
  <li class='group group-2'>
    <div>Group 2</div>
    GHI
  </li>
  <li class='group group-2'>
    <div>Group 2</div>
    JKL
  </li>
  <li class='group group-3'>
    <div>Group 3</div>
    MNO
  </li>
<ul>

I'd like to showcase only the initial group header DIV's of each unique group. The redundant group headers should be concealed.

Just a heads up, group names (like 1, 2, 3, etc.) will differ as they correspond to IDs within the database.

Is it feasible to achieve this using solely CSS? Let me know!

html css css-selectors

Answer 1

Answer №1

To apply the desired styling, you will need to target each selector individually:

[class*="group-1"] + [class*="group-1"] div,
[class*="group-2"] + [class*="group-2"] div ,
[class*="group-3"] + [class*="group-3"] div 
/* and so forth */{
  display:none;
}

[class*="group-1"] + [class*="group-1"] div,
[class*="group-2"] + [class*="group-2"] div,
[class*="group-3"] + [class*="group-3"] div{
  display:none;
}

<ul>
  <li class='group group-1'>
    <div>Group 1</div>
    ABC
  </li>
  <li class='group group-1'>
    <div>Group 1</div>
    DEF
  </li>
  <li class='group group-2'>
    <div>Group 2</div>
    GHI
  </li>
  <li class='group group-2'>
    <div>Group 2</div>
    JKL
  </li>
  <li class='group group-3'>
    <div>Group 3</div>
    MNO
  </li>
<ul>

Answer 2

To apply the desired styling, you will need to target each selector individually:

[class*="group-1"] + [class*="group-1"] div,
[class*="group-2"] + [class*="group-2"] div ,
[class*="group-3"] + [class*="group-3"] div 
/* and so forth */{
  display:none;
}

[class*="group-1"] + [class*="group-1"] div,
[class*="group-2"] + [class*="group-2"] div,
[class*="group-3"] + [class*="group-3"] div{
  display:none;
}

<ul>
  <li class='group group-1'>
    <div>Group 1</div>
    ABC
  </li>
  <li class='group group-1'>
    <div>Group 1</div>
    DEF
  </li>
  <li class='group group-2'>
    <div>Group 2</div>
    GHI
  </li>
  <li class='group group-2'>
    <div>Group 2</div>
    JKL
  </li>
  <li class='group group-3'>
    <div>Group 3</div>
    MNO
  </li>
<ul>

Answer 3

Answer №2

The CSS ~Selector is a powerful tool for targeting all subsequent siblings. By using

.group-1 ~ .group1 { display: none; }

, you can hide all elements with the class .group-1 except for the first one.

Even dynamic group names can be targeted easily using the [attribute] Selector. For example, [class*="group-"] targets any element with a class containing "group-".

Unfortunately, it's not possible to combine these two selectors in CSS alone to capture the wildcard value.

To achieve this effect, you would need to generate all possible class names (perhaps using SASS) and then use the ~Selector as demonstrated in this working example:

http://codepen.io/MattDiMu/pen/WxvGqe

In most cases, generating all possible IDs as classes is not a recommended solution due to its complexity.

Answer 4

The CSS ~Selector is a powerful tool for targeting all subsequent siblings. By using

.group-1 ~ .group1 { display: none; }

, you can hide all elements with the class .group-1 except for the first one.

Even dynamic group names can be targeted easily using the [attribute] Selector. For example, [class*="group-"] targets any element with a class containing "group-".

Unfortunately, it's not possible to combine these two selectors in CSS alone to capture the wildcard value.

To achieve this effect, you would need to generate all possible class names (perhaps using SASS) and then use the ~Selector as demonstrated in this working example:

http://codepen.io/MattDiMu/pen/WxvGqe

In most cases, generating all possible IDs as classes is not a recommended solution due to its complexity.

Answer 5

Answer №3

If your structure remains the same, you will need to find a way to style elements using CSS that either:

Targets the first occurrence of an element with an unknown class name
Targets an element with an unknown class name following another element with the same class name in order to hide subsequent headers.

Unfortunately, achieving this is not possible, even with Selectors 4's :nth-child(An+B of S) notation since the class names are not predetermined.

If you can modify your HTML markup, consider organizing groups into separate UL elements each with its own header for better semantics.

However, if there is no control over the markup, you may use JavaScript to add a specific class to the first LI of each group and then apply styling to hide .group:not(.first) > DIV (where "first" is the additional class).

Answer 6

If your structure remains the same, you will need to find a way to style elements using CSS that either:

Targets the first occurrence of an element with an unknown class name
Targets an element with an unknown class name following another element with the same class name in order to hide subsequent headers.

Unfortunately, achieving this is not possible, even with Selectors 4's :nth-child(An+B of S) notation since the class names are not predetermined.

If you can modify your HTML markup, consider organizing groups into separate UL elements each with its own header for better semantics.

However, if there is no control over the markup, you may use JavaScript to add a specific class to the first LI of each group and then apply styling to hide .group:not(.first) > DIV (where "first" is the additional class).

Answer 7

Answer №4

One way to achieve this is by using the CSS + combinator.

.section-1 + .section-1,
.section-2 + .section-2,
.section-3 + .section-3 {
  display:none;
}

Answer 8

One way to achieve this is by using the CSS + combinator.

.section-1 + .section-1,
.section-2 + .section-2,
.section-3 + .section-3 {
  display:none;
}

Answer 9

Answer №5

CSS has the limitation of only being able to change statically defined elements, but what if you want to work dynamically? In that case, you can incorporate a little bit of javascript into your solution. The approach involves hiding all the li elements using CSS initially, and then selectively showing the first li element with a unique class.

window.onload = function () {
    
    'use strict';
    
    var liClasses = [];
    var liClass, i;
    
    var liLeng = document.querySelectorAll('li').length;
    
    for ( i = 0; i < liLeng; i++ ) {
        liClass = document.getElementsByTagName('li')[i].getAttribute('class');
        liClasses.push(liClass);
        
        document.getElementsByClassName(liClasses[i])[0].style.display = 'block';
        document.getElementsByTagName('p')[0].innerHTML = liClasses;
    }
    
};

ul {
    padding: 0;
    margin: 0;
    list-style-type: none;
}

li {
    width: 150px;
    height: 50px;
    display: block;
    background-color: aqua;
    display: none
}

li:nth-of-type(even) {
    background-color: antiquewhite
}

p {
    width: 200px;
    height: 50px;
    background-color: coral
}

<div class="t">
  <ul>
    <li class="test elm1">1</li>
    <li class="test elm1">1</li>
    <li class="test elm2">2</li>
    <li class="test elm3">3</li>
    <li class="test elm4">4</li>
    <li class="test elm4">4</li>
    <li class="test elm5">5</li>
    <li class="test elm6">6</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm8">8</li>
    <li class="test elm5">5</li>
    <li class="test elm6">6</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm8">8</li>
    <li class="test elm5">5</li>
    <li class="test elm6">6</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm8">8</li>
    <li class="test elm9">9</li>
    <li class="test elm10"></li>
  </ul>
</div>
<p></p>

Answer 10

CSS has the limitation of only being able to change statically defined elements, but what if you want to work dynamically? In that case, you can incorporate a little bit of javascript into your solution. The approach involves hiding all the li elements using CSS initially, and then selectively showing the first li element with a unique class.

window.onload = function () {
    
    'use strict';
    
    var liClasses = [];
    var liClass, i;
    
    var liLeng = document.querySelectorAll('li').length;
    
    for ( i = 0; i < liLeng; i++ ) {
        liClass = document.getElementsByTagName('li')[i].getAttribute('class');
        liClasses.push(liClass);
        
        document.getElementsByClassName(liClasses[i])[0].style.display = 'block';
        document.getElementsByTagName('p')[0].innerHTML = liClasses;
    }
    
};

ul {
    padding: 0;
    margin: 0;
    list-style-type: none;
}

li {
    width: 150px;
    height: 50px;
    display: block;
    background-color: aqua;
    display: none
}

li:nth-of-type(even) {
    background-color: antiquewhite
}

p {
    width: 200px;
    height: 50px;
    background-color: coral
}

<div class="t">
  <ul>
    <li class="test elm1">1</li>
    <li class="test elm1">1</li>
    <li class="test elm2">2</li>
    <li class="test elm3">3</li>
    <li class="test elm4">4</li>
    <li class="test elm4">4</li>
    <li class="test elm5">5</li>
    <li class="test elm6">6</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm8">8</li>
    <li class="test elm5">5</li>
    <li class="test elm6">6</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm8">8</li>
    <li class="test elm5">5</li>
    <li class="test elm6">6</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm7">7</li>
    <li class="test elm8">8</li>
    <li class="test elm9">9</li>
    <li class="test elm10"></li>
  </ul>
</div>
<p></p>

Styling group headers within an unordered list using pure CSS - possible?

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

Answer №5

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