Floating an Image to the Bottom Right with Text Wrapping Around

Floating an image to the bottom right with text wrapping around

Create a spacer element with float: right and height equal to the height of the content minus the height of the image. Then use float: right and clear: right on the image:

<div class="spacer"></div>
<img class="bottomRight" src="" />
<div class="content"></div>

.spacer {
    height: calc(100% - 200px);
    width: 0px;
    float: right;
}
.bottomRight {
    height: 200px;
    float: right;
    clear: right;
}

http://cssdesk.com/bLNWs

My demo uses fixed dimensions in the container element. Since that is rarely a realistic case, it probably makes more sense to use JavaScript to size the spacer. Call this function, passing a reference to the spacer element when the document is ready and during the window.onresize event.

function sizeSpacer(spacer) {
    spacer.style.height = 0;
    var container = spacer.parentNode;
    var img = spacer.nextElementSibling || spacer.nextSibling;
    var lastContentNode = container.children[container.children.length - 1];
    var h = Math.max(0, container.clientHeight - img.clientHeight);
    spacer.style.height = h + "px";
    while (h > 0 && img.getBoundingClientRect().bottom > lastContentNode.getBoundingClientRect().bottom) {
        spacer.style.height = --h + "px";
    }
    if (lastContentNode.getBoundingClientRect().bottom > img.getBoundingClientRect().bottom) {
        spacer.style.height = ++h + "px";
    }
}

This function works (see the demo), and can be reworked for jQuery or your library of choice. It's not meant to be plug-in quality code, but serves to illustrate the concept.

jsfiddle.net/gilly3/xLr7eacp

Edit: I created a jQuery plugin version (github | jsFiddle demo) that supports floating bottom left or bottom right. It also supports specifying which element to align the bottom with.

_{By the way, I didn't bother trying to support IE7.}

How can I wrap text around a bottom-right div?

It sure seems to have been asked before (2003), and before (2002), or before (2005)

The last link actually suggest a javascript-based solution, but for a fixed (i.e. non fluid) solution.

It is consistent however, with other advices found

The only way to do that is to put the floated element somewhere in the middle of the text. It's impossible to get it perfect all of the time.

Or this one:

It consists of floating a vertical "pusher" element (such as img, but it's probably smarter to just use an empty div), then floating the desired object under it, using the clear property. The major problem with this method is you still have to know how many lines there are of text. It makes things MUCH easier though, and could definitely be coded with javascript, just need to change the height of the "pusher" to the height of the container minus the height of the float (assuming your container isn't fixed/min height).

Anyway, as discussed in this thread, there is no easy solution...

Cletus mentions in the comments this thread from 2003, which states once again the fact it can not easily be achieved.

However, it does refer to this Eric Meyer's article, which comes close to the effect you want to achieve.

By understanding how floats and the normal flow relate to each other, and understanding how clearing can be used to manipulate the normal flow around floats, authors can employ floats as a very powerful layout tool.

Because floats were not originally intended to be used for layout, some hacks may be necessary to make them behave as intended. This can involve floating elements that contain floats, "clearing" elements, or a combination of both.

Yet, Chadwick Meyer suggests in his answer a solution based on the :before CSS selector (variation of Leonard's answer).

It does work here.

Update Apr. 2021: Temani Afif suggests in his answer using exbox combined with a shape-outside.

But do check out the Backwards Compatibility of Flexbox, even though its support by all browsers is quite good.

How to wrap text around an image placed at the END of a block of text?

In short, you cannot accomplish that exact appearance you are seeking without some markup changes, either with a left or right float.

The reason that the left float works on the first image is that a floated element will have the block level content following it "flow" around it. If you started with a right float on that first image the same effect would be achieved. So when you put an image at the very end of your block-level content (paragraphs), there is nothing to flow around it.

You can achieve a similar look by outputting the last image while there is still some content remaining. For example:

https://codepen.io/andrewborem/pen/PjyNyY

Relevant Code:

div {  max-width: 750px;  margin: 0 auto;  font-size: 1.125em;}
img.left {  float: left;  margin: 0 0.5em 0.5em 0;  line-height: 0;}
img.right {  float: right;  margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 0.5em;  line-height: 0;}

<div>  <img class="left" src="https://placehold.it/400x300" />  <p>Bacon ipsum dolor amet tenderloin sirloin pork belly alcatra, flank cow pig. Chicken rump andouille bacon, turkey strip steak pastrami salami chuck shank flank ball tip. Pork belly doner salami alcatra tail strip steak. Tongue boudin leberkas brisket    burgdoggen capicola tri-tip corned beef filet mignon pancetta strip steak short ribs. Biltong drumstick jerky, filet mignon bresaola t-bone sirloin tail pig. Meatball sirloin burgdoggen tail t-bone.</p>  <p>Ham jerky bacon ground round, pork tongue fatback landjaeger short loin flank brisket ribeye cow. Jowl capicola flank shoulder strip steak spare ribs pig boudin. Burgdoggen beef ribs kevin meatball frankfurter turkey pork loin ground round capicola    shoulder ribeye t-bone cow prosciutto boudin. Porchetta rump bacon swine, hamburger ham hock beef ribs picanha turkey leberkas. Venison pork ham, biltong bacon prosciutto spare ribs pig picanha capicola. Pastrami pancetta bresaola chuck biltong venison.    Leberkas chicken pastrami shoulder, turducken drumstick spare ribs picanha capicola pancetta rump salami tail t-bone.</p>  <p>Picanha doner burgdoggen sausage. Corned beef pork belly alcatra, ground round beef ribs tenderloin ball tip pork loin pig hamburger pork chop tri-tip brisket. Jowl doner tail shankle venison frankfurter. Spare ribs pig chicken t-bone. Beef sirloin    tongue picanha pork capicola fatback, meatball boudin porchetta shank tri-tip pork belly.</p>  <img class="right" src="https://placehold.it/400x300" />  <p>Leberkas chicken short loin kevin tri-tip kielbasa ham hock meatball, ball tip ground round tongue filet mignon. Venison tongue pork belly pig. Kielbasa short ribs sirloin venison alcatra hamburger bacon boudin. Pork ball tip brisket strip steak pig,    pork loin turkey jowl kevin spare ribs tenderloin. Landjaeger sirloin spare ribs ribeye ball tip, venison shank bresaola chicken pork loin doner shoulder jowl shankle pastrami. Shoulder tri-tip pork loin swine, leberkas salami ground round bresaola    pastrami kielbasa chuck chicken.</p>
  <p>Pancetta tail sirloin corned beef frankfurter burgdoggen kielbasa leberkas chicken chuck meatball pork belly flank venison. Porchetta shankle capicola, strip steak biltong alcatra pastrami. Frankfurter shankle drumstick tail, pancetta pork belly andouille.    Ball tip pancetta strip steak venison pork loin hamburger. Drumstick landjaeger cupim, ham hock boudin beef kielbasa pancetta pig.</p>
</div>