Maintain aspect ratio with a fixed height

Question

So I want to maintain a specific aspect ratio of a div, where the height is fixed. In the past I have done this, but only when using a fixed width like this:

<

Answer 1

You can:

• Place a replaced element with the desired ratio inside your target element.

  For example, it can be an image with the desired intrinsic sizes, or a canvas.

  Style this replaced element with height: 100%, so that it spans the entire target element.

  Let it have the default width: auto, so that its width respects the aspect ratio.

  Style it with display: block to avoid the extra space below image problem.

• Make the target element use the shrink-to-fit width algorithm to calculate its width, so that it "inherits" the aspect ratio of the replaced element.

  For example, you can achieve this by floating it or with display: inline-block.

• If you want the target element to have contents, place them in an absolutely positioned wrapper in order to prevent them from altering the sizes of the target element.

  Make that wrapper as big as the target element with top:0; right:0; bottom:0; left:0, and make the target element its relative container.

This should work. However, for some reason browsers do not seem to update the width when the window is resized, so it only works initially. Forcing a rerender with JS solves this problem.

var s = document.getElementById('aspect-ratio'),
    p = s.parentNode,
    n = s.nextSibling;
window.addEventListener('resize', function() {
  // Force a rerender
  p.removeChild(s);
  p.insertBefore(s, n);
});

html, body {
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
}
#aspect-ratio {
  height: 100%;       /* Some fixed height */
  float: left;        /* Shrink-to-fit width */
  position: relative; /* Containing block for #contents */
  background: orange;
}
#aspect-ratio > canvas {
  height: 100%;       /* Span #aspect-ratio entirely */
  display: block;     /* Remove space below canvas */
}
#aspect-ratio > #contents {
  overflow: auto;
  position: absolute;
  top: 0;
  right: 0;
  bottom: 0;
  left: 0;
}

<div id="aspect-ratio">
  <canvas height="16" width="9"></canvas>
  <div id="contents">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec a diam lectus. Sed sit amet ipsum mauris. Maecenas congue ligula ac quam viverra nec consectetur ante hendrerit. Donec et mollis dolor. Praesent et diam eget libero egestas mattis sit amet vitae augue. Nam tincidunt congue enim, ut porta lorem lacinia consectetur. Donec ut libero sed arcu vehicula ultricies a non tortor. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean ut gravida lorem. Ut turpis felis, pulvinar a semper sed, adipiscing id dolor. Pellentesque auctor nisi id magna consequat sagittis. Curabitur dapibus enim sit amet elit pharetra tincidunt feugiat nisl imperdiet. Ut convallis libero in urna ultrices accumsan. Donec sed odio eros. Donec viverra mi quis quam pulvinar at malesuada arcu rhoncus. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. In rutrum accumsan ultricies. Mauris vitae nisi at sem facilisis semper ac in est.</div>
</div>