KO | EN

GitLite

Minimalist Open Source Repository Search Engine

gitlite — search

#dsh #dsh-plugin #typescript #developer-tools #claude-code #ai-agent #codex #deepseek-harness #ai-agents #cli #react #mcp

float_column

★ 32 Open GitHub ↗

Flutter FloatColumn widget for building a vertical column of widgets and text where the text wraps around floated widgets, similar to how CSS float works.

// repository documentation

Was this content helpful?

★ 0 (0 ratings)

# float_column

[![Pub](https://img.shields.io/pub/v/float_column.svg)](https://pub.dev/packages/float_column)
[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

A Flutter widget for building a vertical column of widgets and text, where
the text wraps around floated widgets — similar to the CSS `float` and
`clear` properties.

**Try the live demo:** [https://ronjb.github.io/float_column](https://ronjb.github.io/float_column)

![Example with left-to-right text](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ronjb/float_column/main/example/example_ltr_v2.png)

## Features

* Float widgets to the left or right (or `start`/`end` for automatic
  right-to-left support), with paragraph text wrapping around them.
* Float widgets inline from within text using `WidgetSpan` — the float
  anchors to its position in the text.
* Clear floats (like CSS `clear`), with optional minimum spacing.
* Margins, padding, and a first-line indent (or hanging indent) on
  paragraphs.
* Constrain a float's width to a percentage of the column's width.
* Full right-to-left text direction support.
* Works with Flutter text selection.
* `FloatColumn` widgets can themselves be floated and nested.

## Getting started

Add the dependency to your app's `pubspec.yaml` file:

```yaml
dependencies:
  float_column: ^4.1.0
```

And import it:

```dart
import 'package:float_column/float_column.dart';
```

## Usage

### Basic example

`FloatColumn` accepts a list of children that can be `Widget`, `Text`,
`RichText`, `TextSpan`, or `WrappableText` objects. Wrap any widget that
should float in a `Floatable`:

```dart
FloatColumn(
  children: [
    const Floatable(
      float: FCFloat.start,
      padding: EdgeInsetsDirectional.only(end: 8),
      child: FlutterLogo(size: 100),
    ),
    const Floatable(
      float: FCFloat.end,
      clear: FCClear.both,
      clearMinSpacing: 20,
      padding: EdgeInsetsDirectional.only(start: 8),
      child: FlutterLogo(size: 100),
    ),
    WrappableText(
      text: const TextSpan(
        text: 'This text will wrap around the floated widgets, '
            'flowing to the right of the first logo, then below it, '
            'then to the left of the second logo…',
      ),
    ),
  ],
),
```

Plain `Text` and `TextSpan` children work too — they're treated like
`WrappableText` automatically:

```dart
FloatColumn(
  children: [
    const Floatable(float: FCFloat.start, child: FlutterLogo(size: 80)),
    const Text('Text children wrap around floated siblings too.'),
  ],
),
```

### Floated widgets in WidgetSpans

Widgets can also be floated from *within* the text itself by wrapping them
in a `Floatable` inside a `WidgetSpan`. The float is anchored to the line
of text containing the `WidgetSpan`, and the text wraps around it from
there — handy for figures, pull quotes, or margin notes that should stay
with their place in the text:

```dart
FloatColumn(
  children: [
    WrappableText(
      text: const TextSpan(
        children: [
          TextSpan(text: 'The image below is floated at the point in the '
              'text where it appears'),
          WidgetSpan(
            child: Floatable(
              float: FCFloat.start,
              clear: FCClear.start,
              padding: EdgeInsetsDirectional.only(end: 8),
              maxWidthPercentage: 0.33,
              child: Image(image: AssetImage('assets/fig1.png')),
            ),
          ),
          TextSpan(text: ', and the rest of the paragraph continues to '
              'wrap around it…'),
        ],
      ),
    ),
  ],
),
```

### Drop caps

A classic use case — float the first letter of a paragraph:

```dart
FloatColumn(
  children: [
    WrappableText(
      text: const TextSpan(
        children: [
          WidgetSpan(
            child: Floatable(
              float: FCFloat.start,
              padding: EdgeInsetsDirectional.only(end: 8),
              child: Text('T', style: TextStyle(fontSize: 64, height: 1)),
            ),
          ),
          TextSpan(text: 'he rest of the paragraph wraps around the '
              'oversized first letter, like a drop cap in a book or '
              'magazine…'),
        ],
      ),
    ),
  ],
),
```

See the [example app](https://github.com/ronjb/float_column/tree/main/example)
for a more polished `DropCap` widget with font-size-aware measurements.

### Clearing floats

Like CSS `clear`, a child can be pushed below previously floated siblings
with the `clear` property, using `FCClear.left`, `FCClear.right`,
`FCClear.start`, `FCClear.end`, or `FCClear.both`. Floated widgets also
support `clearMinSpacing`, the minimum vertical space between the cleared
widget and the float above it:

```dart
FloatColumn(
  children: [
    const Floatable(float: FCFloat.start, child: FlutterLogo(size: 100)),
    const Floatable(
      float: FCFloat.start,
      clear: FCClear.start, // Placed below the first logo,
      clearMinSpacing: 16,  // with at least 16 pixels of spacing.
      child: FlutterLogo(size: 100),
    ),
    WrappableText(
      text: const TextSpan(text: 'This text wraps around both logos…'),
      clear: FCClear.none, // The default — no clearing.
    ),
  ],
),
```

### Margins, padding, and indent

`WrappableText` and `Floatable` both support `margin` and `padding`.
Margins can overlap adjacent content, similar to CSS margin behavior —
vertical margins collapse between non-floated siblings, and a floated
child's margin box is what sibling content wraps around. Padding never
overlaps siblings.

`WrappableText` also supports a first-line `indent` — use a positive value
for a normal indent or a negative value for a hanging indent:

```dart
WrappableText(
  text: const TextSpan(text: 'A paragraph with an indented first line…'),
  indent: 32,
  margin: const EdgeInsetsDirectional.only(start: 16),
  padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(vertical: 8),
),
```

### Right-to-left text

`FloatColumn` respects the ambient `Directionality` (or an explicit
`textDirection`), and `FCFloat.start`/`FCFloat.end` and
`FCClear.start`/`FCClear.end` resolve automatically:

![Example with right-to-left text](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ronjb/float_column/main/example/example_rtl.png)

### Nesting

`FloatColumn` widgets can be floated and nested:

![Example with nested FloatColumn widgets](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ronjb/float_column/main/example/example_nested.png)

## Reference

### Floatable

| Property | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `float` | Which side to float to: `none` (default), `left`, `right`, `start`, or `end`. |
| `clear` | Place this child below floated siblings: `none` (default), `left`, `right`, `start`, `end`, or `both`. |
| `clearMinSpacing` | Minimum vertical spacing below the cleared sibling. |
| `margin` | Space around the child that can overlap adjacent content. |
| `padding` | Space around the child that never overlaps siblings. |
| `maxWidthPercentage` | Maximum width as a fraction of the column's width (defaults to `1.0`). |

### WrappableText

| Property | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `text` | The `TextSpan` to display. |
| `clear` | Place this paragraph below floated siblings. |
| `indent` | First-line indent; negative for a hanging indent. |
| `margin`, `padding` | Space around the paragraph. |
| `textAlign`, `textDirection`, `overflow`, `textScaler`, `maxLines`, `locale`, `strutStyle`, `textHeightBehavior` | Standard text layout properties, like those on `Text`. |

## Additional information

* [API documentation](https://pub.dev/documentation/float_column/latest/)
* [Example app](https://github.com/ronjb/float_column/tree/main/example) —
  also running live at
  [ronjb.github.io/float_column](https://ronjb.github.io/float_column)
* Found a bug or have a feature request? Please file an issue at the
  [GitHub issue tracker](https://github.com/ronjb/float_column/issues).
* Licensed under the [MIT License](https://github.com/ronjb/float_column/blob/main/LICENSE).

float_column

Explore Similar Repositories

Was this content helpful?

Recent Feedback

Download README