Fixing Horizontal Scroll in Internet Explorer 10 with Bootstrap 4

Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) is known for its compatibility issues with modern web standards. When using Bootstrap 4, a popular framework for responsive web design, you may encounter problems like horizontal scrolling due to its use of flexbox for grid layout. This article will guide you on how to address these issues effectively.

Understanding the Issue

When using Bootstrap 4's grid system, it relies on flexbox for its layout. However, IE10 does not fully support flexbox. This can lead to unexpected behaviors, such as horizontal scrolling, which is a common problem. One possible solution is to use the .container-fluid class, but this alone may not resolve all issues.

Solution: Using .container-fluid

One approach to fix the horizontal scroll is to utilize the .container-fluid class. This class provides a full-width container, but it can still lead to issues if proper fallbacks are not implemented. Here's how you can use it:

div class"container-fluid">
  div class"row">
    div class"col">
    /div>
    div class"col">
    /div>
  /div>
/div>

Here, the .container-fluid class is used within a div structure, and the .row and .col classes are used for defining grid columns.

Implementing Flexbox Fallback with @supports

One of the best ways to address this issue is to create a fallback grid system for older browsers that do not support flexbox. IE10 is one of those browsers. You can use CSS @supports rule to ensure that your grid layout is optimized for these browsers. Here's an example of how you can implement this:

@supports not (display: flex) {
  .row {
    display: block;
    width: 100%;
    box-sizing: border-box;
  }
  .col {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 50%;
    box-sizing: border-box;
  }
}

The CSS above sets up a traditional block-level and inline-block structure for the grid, ensuring that it works as expected in browsers that do not support flexbox.

Avoiding Bootstrap in Production

Another approach is to avoid using Bootstrap altogether for production sites and build your own grid layout specifically for the site by hand. This custom approach gives you full control over the layout and ensures compatibility with older browsers. Building your own grid system, however, requires more time and effort. Here's a basic example of how you might structure a custom grid:

.container {
  width: 100%;
  box-sizing: border-box;
}
.row {
  display: block;
  width: 100%;
}
.col {
  display: inline-block;
  width: 50%;
  box-sizing: border-box;
}

This custom grid system provides a way to create a responsive layout without relying on a pre-built framework. It allows for greater flexibility and ensures that the layout is compatible with older browsers like IE10.

Conclusion

When you're working with older browsers like Internet Explorer 10, it is crucial to consider layout fallbacks and custom solutions. Using tools like @supports for browser-specific styling, or even building your own grid system, can help you maintain a consistent and functional user experience. While Bootstrap provides many conveniences, it may not always be the best choice for ensuring compatibility with older web standards.