DevGuru CSS2: margin

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PROPERTY: margin

margin : length | percentage | auto

Compatibility: IE4+ N4+
Version: Level 1
Inherited: No

The margin property is a shortcut for setting the margin-bottom, margin-left, margin-right, and/or margin-top properties in one declaration.

You can declare one, two, three or four values. If you omit one of the values, the value for that margin will be obtained from the opposite side, therefore:

If you declare one value, the size for all four margins will be that value.

If you declare two values, the top and bottom margins will be set by the first value, the right and left margins by the second.

If you declare three values, the top margin will be set by the first value, the right and left margins will be set by the second, and the bottom by the third.

If you declare four values, the order is top, right, bottom, left.

length

The length value can be in any of the following seven units. Use the abbreviation.

Length	Abbrev.
centimeters	cm
ems	em
inches	in
millimeters	mm
picas	pc
pixels	px
points	pt

percentage

The percentage value is based upon the total width being defined as 100%.

auto

The auto value directs the browser to automatically calculate all four margins. By declaring auto, you can ensure that any previous declaration will not effect the margins.

Code:
body { margin: 25mm; }
body { margin: 1.0in; }
body { margin: 15pc 25pc; }
body { margin: 36pt 24pt 36pt; }
body { margin: 11.5%; }
body { margin: 10% 10% 10% 10%; }
body { margin: auto; }

Output:
Click to see example in separate window