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Handling long text using TEXT-OVERFLOW : ECLLIPSIS

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28 Nov 2010CPOL1 min read 40.5K   3   3
Handling long text using TEXT-OVERFLOW : ECLLIPSIS

Problem



  1. I got requirement from the client that if the text is longer than text get truncated and display "..." at the end of the string.
  2. But the twist is I have to display "..." in ASP.NET GridView control for each cell.

Example



I am working on my blog post formatting this day.

I have to display this as



<nobr>I am working on my blog post formatting this day.

Solution


Make use of available CSS property


text-overflow: ellipsis; which truncate text form the point where text is wraping and display "..." as we require to resolve our issue.


Solution for the First Problem


So out css class for DIV element to get "..." will be like:


div
{
   border-bottom: 1px solid; 
   border-left: 1px solid; 
   border-right: 1px solid; 
   border-top: 1px solid;        
   overflow: hidden; 
   text-overflow: ellipsis; 
   width: 150px;
   white-space:nowrap;
}

Output



<nobr>I am working on my blog post formatting this day.

This property is that its works for div, p type element. i.e for the block element. So it resolves my first problem.


Solution for the Problem 2


But the CSS text-overflow not working for the html table element directly. And GridView control get converted in table structure when its render on client browser.


So to resolve this issue we have to use another CSS property call


table-layout : fixed; more about table-layout : http://www.w3schools.com/Css/pr_tab_table-layout.asp

C#
table
{
table-layout: fixed; 
width: 200px;
}
table td
{
overflow: hidden; 
text-overflow: ellipsis;
white-space:nowrap;
}


Output:
My WebSite :http://pranayamr.blogspot.com/
My WebSite2 :http://ww.stackoverflow.com/



Support


text-overflow : ecllipsis is supported by IE6+, Google Chrome


Summary


So text-overflow:eclipse reduce the cost of calculating no. char we can display in a given width and write some custom login to display "..." append with the string.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer (Senior)
India India

Microsoft C# MVP (12-13)



Hey, I am Pranay Rana, working as a Team Leadin MNC. Web development in Asp.Net with C# and MS sql server are the experience tools that I have had for the past 5.5 years now.

For me def. of programming is : Programming is something that you do once and that get used by multiple for many years

You can visit my blog


StackOverFlow - http://stackoverflow.com/users/314488/pranay
My CV :- http://careers.stackoverflow.com/pranayamr

Awards:



Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralThe correct value is "ellipsis". You even used it twice in t... Pin
Richard Deeming10-Dec-10 8:12
mveRichard Deeming10-Dec-10 8:12 
GeneralReason for my vote of 5 Extremely Helpful, many thanks Pin
zoetosis6-Dec-10 9:21
zoetosis6-Dec-10 9:21 
Reason for my vote of 5
Extremely Helpful, many thanks
GeneralHere is the relevant section in the CSS3 specification: http... Pin
Morten Nilsen25-Nov-10 21:12
Morten Nilsen25-Nov-10 21:12 

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