CSS on-screen ruler
HTML
<script src="http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Ubuntu"></script>
<ul class="ruler"><li>1</li><li>2</li><li>3</li><li>4</li></ul>
<div>
<ul class="ruler" data-items="10"></ul>
</div>
<div>
<label for="spacing">Spacing</label>
<select id="spacing">
<option>1cm</option>
<option>2cm</option>
<option>1in</option>
<option>1em</option>
<option>20px</option>
</select>
</div>
CSS
.ruler, .ruler li {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
list-style: none;
display: inline-block;
}
/* IE6-7 Fix */
.ruler, .ruler li {
*display: inline;
}
.ruler {
background: lightYellow;
box-shadow: 0 -1px 1em hsl(60, 60%, 84%) inset;
border-radius: 2px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
color: #ccc;
margin: 0;
height: 3em;
padding-right: 1cm;
white-space: nowrap;
}
.ruler li {
padding-left: 1cm;
width: 2em;
margin: .64em -1em -.64em;
text-align: center;
position: relative;
text-shadow: 1px 1px hsl(60, 60%, 84%);
}
.ruler li:before {
content: '';
position: absolute;
border-left: 1px solid #ccc;
height: .64em;
top: -.64em;
right: 1em;
}
/* Make me pretty! */
body {
font: 12px Ubuntu, Arial, sans-serif;
margin: 20px;
}
div {
margin-top: 2em;
}
JavaScript
$(function() {
// Build "dynamic" rulers by adding items
$(".ruler[data-items]").each(function() {
var ruler = $(this).empty(),
len = Number(ruler.attr("data-items")) || 0,
item = $(document.createElement("li")),
i;
for (i = 0; i < len; i++) {
ruler.append(item.clone().text(i + 1));
}
});
// Change the spacing programatically
function changeRulerSpacing(spacing) {
$(".ruler").
css("padding-right", spacing).
find("li").
css("padding-left", spacing);
}
$("#spacing").change(function() {
changeRulerSpacing($(this).val());
});
});