How to Use DOM Element “clientWidth” in HTML?

The “clientWidth” property in HTML is used to retrieve the inner width of an HTML element. It includes padding, not the border or margin assigned to that HTML element. The value returned by the “clientwidth” property is an integer in a pixel format which is the width of an element content box. This property has numerous benefits and real-time usage like measuring the position and size of the element, creating dynamic web pages, calculating the remaining width of an element, etc.

This blog demonstrates the DOM element clientWidth in HTML.

How to Use DOM Element “clientWidth” in HTML?

The “clientWidth” property returns the width of the visible element content, leaving the border, margin, and width of the scrollbar if it is used. It helps in creating the layout and the positioning of HTML elements and tells whether the element fits or not within the specified space.

Let us walk through an example for a better explanation:

Example: The “clientWidth” Property

In this example, the width of an HTML element is going to retrieve using the “clientWidth” property:

<body>

<h3 id="example1">Linuxhint Article</h3>

<script>

var example = document.getElementById('example1');

var exampleWidth = example.clientWidth;

console.log('Example Div Width including Padding only: ' + exampleWidth + 'px');

</script>

</body>

An explanation of the above code snippet is described below:

First, create an “<h3>” tag that holds some dummy data. Also, attach an “id” attribute having a value of “example1”.
Then, create a variable “example” inside the “<script>”. This variable holds the reference of the “h3” element using its id.
Next, assign the “clientWidth” property with the “example” variable, and store it in the new variable named “exampleWidth”.
After that, display the “exampleWidth” variable on the console using the “console.log()” method.

After the addition of HTML and JavaScript part let us apply some CSS styling:

First, select the “example” id inside the “<style>” tag to perform CSS properties.
Next, set the value of “200px” and “50px” for the “width” and “padding” properties, respectively.
After that, set values of “20px” and “lightgray” for the CSS “margin” and “background-color” properties for better visualization.

After the execution of the above code snippets, the webpage appears like this:

The output displays that the width of the select “h3” element is displayed. It includes “50px” of padding from both sides making a total of 100px and “200px” of width which is provided by the developer while styling the element.

Conclusion

The “clientWidth” property works inside the “<script>” tag as JavaScript code. It retrieves the inner width of the selected element, leaving the border, and margin. This property has numerous benefits like measuring the position and size of the element, creating dynamic web pages, etc. This blog has successfully demonstrated about the DOM element clientWidth in HTML.

How to Use DOM Element “clientWidth” in HTML?