How can I add margin between three Bootstrap columns without them wrapping? - html

Question

.background-color {
background-color: lightgrey;
height: 200px;
border: 1px solid black;
}
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.1.3/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-MCw98/SFnGE8fJT3GXwEOngsV7Zt27NXFoaoApmYm81iuXoPkFOJwJ8ERdknLPMO" crossorigin="anonymous">
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-4 background-color">1</div>
<div class="col-4 background-color">2</div>
<div class="col-4 background-color">3</div>
</div>
</div>
So I have three columns which are each 4 columns in width and whenever I add m-3 (margin all around) they break off because of that, how can I contain them? So they stay all 3 on the same line?
.background-color {
background-color: lightgrey;
height: 200px;
border: 1px solid black;
}
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.1.3/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-MCw98/SFnGE8fJT3GXwEOngsV7Zt27NXFoaoApmYm81iuXoPkFOJwJ8ERdknLPMO" crossorigin="anonymous">
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-4 background-color m-3">1</div>
<div class="col-4 background-color m-3">2</div>
<div class="col-4 background-color m-3">3</div>
</div>
</div>

Answer 1

Only way I saw around this was to nest other elements.
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-4"><div class="col-12 background-color m-3">1</div></div>
<div class="col-4"><div class="col-12 background-color m-3">2</div></div>
<div class="col-4"><div class="col-12 background-color m-3">3</div></div>
</div>
</div>

Answer 2

The Bootstrap column system (as you probably know) is based on the idea that the page has 12 notional columns. You then use the col-* classes to indicate how many of those 12 columns each element takes up. So, in this case, you've declared that each element takes up 4 columns, which means they use all 12 notional columns.
The problem is that margins in HTML are outside the element. So, if you have three elements, each using 4 columns, and then add some margin, you now have more than the width of the 12 columns available (here, 12 columns plus three lots of m-3). As a result, the third element doesn't have enough space to be displayed and flows to the next line.
To avoid this, you can use padding instead of margins (because paddings are inside the element, you get visual separation while sticking to the grid widths). Alternatively, you could reduce the width of the elements to col-3 and add your margin outside that. However, this may mean (depending on your layout) that it doesn't use the full width.
Ultimately, if you need three elements across the page with margins, it may be best to define your own classes rather than trying to use the Bootstrap classes. Frameworks are great when you work with them, and a pain when you work against them!

Answer 3

.background-color {
background-color: lightgrey;
height: 200px;
border: 1px solid black;
}
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.1.3/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-MCw98/SFnGE8fJT3GXwEOngsV7Zt27NXFoaoApmYm81iuXoPkFOJwJ8ERdknLPMO" crossorigin="anonymous">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="row">
<div class="col background-color m-3 ">1
</div>
<div class="col background-color m-3">2</div>
<div class="col background-color m-3">3</div>
</div>
</div>
use col instead of col-4