How do I center align horizontal <UL> menu?

css, menuitem, xhtml

Solution

From http://pmob.co.uk/pob/centred-float.htm:

The premise is simple and basically just involves a widthless float wrapper that is floated to the left and then shifted off screen to the left width position:relative; left:-50%. Next the nested inner element is reversed and a relative position of +50% is applied. This has the effect of placing the element dead in the center. Relative positioning maintains the flow and allows other content to flow underneath.

Code

#buttons{
    float:right;
    position:relative;
    left:-50%;
    text-align:left;
}
#buttons ul{
    list-style:none;
    position:relative;
    left:50%;
}

#buttons li{float:left;position:relative;}/* ie needs position:relative here*/

#buttons a{
    text-decoration:none;
    margin:10px;
    background:red;
    float:left;
    border:2px outset blue;
    color:#fff;
    padding:2px 5px;
    text-align:center;
    white-space:nowrap;
}
#buttons a:hover{ border:2px inset blue;color:red;background:#f2f2f2;}
#content{overflow:hidden}/* hide horizontal scrollbar*/

<div id="buttons">
    <ul>
        <li><a href="#">Button 1</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Button 2's a bit longer</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Butt 3</a></li>
        <li><a href="#">Button 4</a></li>
    </ul>
</div>

Problem

Original source