Question

How do I make border opacity of a div dim and the contents full opacity

Asked by: bperin42

Hi, I'm making a div that pops up over any other content on the page, I want the border of that div to have lower opacity than everything inside. I dont think theres a way to specifically make a border have a lighter opacity, so I set one div inside of another and have the outer div (border) opacity .4, the only problem is that the child div also inherits this. I've tried setting the child div to opacity:1; but that doesn't do anything, they both take the style. So I need picture_border have opacity .4, and picture_box have full opacity

.picture_border
{
	position:absolute;
	top:200px;
	right:400px;
	-moz-border-radius: 7px;
  	-webkit-border-radius: 7px;
  	border-width:20px;
	border-color:#000000;
	border-style:solid;
	opacity:.4;
	width:400px;
	z-index:1;
}
.picture_box
{
	position:relative;
	background-color: #FFFFFF;
	padding:1.5%;
}

                                  
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Asked On
2009-03-05 at 17:09:39ID24204288
Tags

opacity

,

css

Topic

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Participating Experts
3
Points
250
Comments
10

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Answers

 

by: KravimirPosted on 2009-03-05 at 18:56:59ID: 23813500

The solution is to use a 3rd <div>. The basic technique is shown here: http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=490807

 

by: bperin42Posted on 2009-03-09 at 15:58:38ID: 23842049

I couldn't get anything to work on that link

 

by: bperin42Posted on 2009-09-14 at 21:21:52ID: 31554688

This wasn't exactly what I was looking for but helped

 

by: brunobearPosted on 2009-12-01 at 19:17:00ID: 25948903

this seems to be a popular question, so I want to leave a real answer here. with the current crop of browsers, the best way to accomplish this is using rgba() for color.

check here for more info:
http://24ways.org/2009/working-with-rgba-colour

 

by: KravimirPosted on 2009-12-01 at 20:16:00ID: 25949110

"rgba()" is very cool, but still, having to use a workaround to support IE (and other browsers that don't support "rgba()") doesn't make it a whole lot simpler than what I suggested. (I suppose it is conceptually easier to understand though and doesn't require an extra <div>.) Also the CSS validator flags it as an error, even when using the (unfinished) CSS3 profile.

These two articles mention another workaround for using it in IE:
http://css-tricks.com/rgba-browser-support/
http://leaverou.me/2009/02/bulletproof-cross-browser-rgba-backgrounds/

 

by: brunobearPosted on 2009-12-02 at 04:32:10ID: 25951237

I wouldn't be too concerned about the CSS validator on this one.

And with the current trends in the industry, hopefully most people understand that not all browsers support it and it's ok if IE uses a solid color rather than something w/ an alpha channel.

No offense meant to your prev answer btw, but this Q was at the top of the 'hot list' or somewhere, and rgba() likely wouldn't have been a good answer back in March, but hopefully as we keep moving forward it'll become more and more a valid solution.

 

by: codeQuantumPosted on 2009-12-08 at 10:16:19ID: 26000649

You have been hasty in assigning a solution. Anyway here is what I think you are looking for :

This assigns a grey color to the border, and makes it 40% visible / 60% transparent.

border: 1px solid rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.4);

                                              
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by: brunobearPosted on 2009-12-08 at 12:48:50ID: 26002182

LOL - codeQuantum do you think the question asker should have waited 10 months for a solution? Also if you took the time to read the comments, thats the same solution I posted.

 

by: codeQuantumPosted on 2009-12-08 at 13:17:06ID: 26002550

Oh my bad, I only read Kravimir's solution and did not see the others. (I guess it is because they are in comment format and not in a proposed solution format...)

In all cases following that discussion, I believe in non-critical styling issues like this one, it is very acceptable to use RGBA and ignore internet explorer. After all this compatibility issue won't hide content or significantly breaks the user experience. If a user sees a solid border instead of a transparent one it is ok ; those with RGBA support will simply have a slightly improved experience.

 

by: brunobearPosted on 2009-12-08 at 16:35:10ID: 26004024

fully agreed.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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