Which Alignment-option prevails if they are given on levels of Grid, Framed and the like? [closed]

Question

From

G[align_] := 
  Module[{}
  , Framed[align
  , ImageSize -> {{60, 100}, {60, 100}}    (* {{wmin, 
wmax}, {hmin, hmax}} in 1/72 inch  units *)
  , Alignment -> align
  , FrameStyle -> None
  , FrameMargins -> None
  ]
];
Print @ Grid[#, Frame -> {All, All}] &  @
Partition[(G /@ 
Flatten[Outer[List, {Left, Center, Right}, {Bottom, Center, Top}], 1]) , 3]
Print @ Grid[#, Frame -> {All, All}] &  @
Partition[(G /@ Flatten[Outer[List, {-1, 0, 1}, {-1, 0, 1}], 1]) ,3]

I get

I consider the entries marked red to be wrong:

• {Left, Top} is not aligned left,
• {Right, Bottom}, {Right, Center} and {Right, Top} are not horizontally right-aligned.

Can please somebody explain why this happens?

The numerical ones are aligned as expected, however.

When I use Grid[Framed[...]] the result does not have the nice feature PageWidth->width (in 1/72 inch units) of

Grid[{{TextCell[Row[{"..."}], PageWidth -> width, ...]
   , {{TextCell[Row[{"..."}], PageWidth -> width, ...]
   ,
   }
  ,{...}
  }
, ItemSize -> {Automatic, Automatic}
, Frame -> {All, 1 -> True}
]

where the columns become smaller if the window becomes narrower than necessary to accommodate what shall be printed. However, with this construct, alignment also goes wrong.

Answer 1

Try redefining your G like this:

G[align_] := 
  Module[{}, 
    Framed[align, 
      ImageSize -> {{60, 100}, {60, 100}}, 
      Alignment -> align, 
      FrameStyle -> Blue]]

(FrameStyle and FrameMargins are changed.)

Now run the rest of your code just as it is. You should see how the Framed items are placed inside the Grid (specifically, they're placed in each cell with the default alignment for Grid).

To make this more clear, you could add ItemSize to your grid-function:

Grid[#, Frame -> {All, All}, ItemSize -> {10, 10}] &

Now, if you leave the FrameStyle and FrameMargins as I've set them above, but set ImageSize to {{150, 150}, {150, 150}}, you'll see the alignments show up as if they were applied to the grid, which is probably what you were expecting.

Answer 2

What's happening is that your construction is a Grid of boxes (of "FrameBoxes" to be precise). You are aligning the content of each box on the sides of the box itself but the box remains still centered in its environnment (which is a rectangle of the Grid)

This is your code :

     Framed[{Left, Top}, ImageSize -> {{60, 100}, {60, 100}}
     , Alignment -> {Left, Top}
     , FrameStyle -> None
     , FrameMargins -> None]  

The box you create in your code is the red box below :

redBox = Framed[{Left, Top}, ImageSize -> {{60, 100}, {60, 100}}
  , Alignment -> {Left, Top}
  , FrameStyle -> Red
  , FrameMargins -> None]  

A modification of the option ImageSize shows that the option Alignment -> {Left, Top} works fine :

Framed[{Left, Top}, ImageSize -> {150, 50}
 , Alignment -> {Left, Top}
 , FrameStyle -> Red
 , FrameMargins -> None
 ]   

Back to previous result (named redBox), if one put it in a Grid, it gives :

Grid[{{"----------------------"}
  , {redBox}}]

As the defaut alignment of Grid is Center, it has put the box logically in the middle.

The solution is simply the put the option Alignment -> {Left, Top} in the Grid[] (and not in the box generated by Framed[ ...])

Grid[{{"----------------------"}
  , {redBox}}
 , Alignment -> {Left, Top}]