Tabs border with triangle with CSS

Question

I am trying to represent my HTML/CSS tab like on the picture.

I have already tried lots of things with border-radius without any success. Do you have any tracks so that I can reproduce my tabs like the picture only with CSS?

Answer 1

In order to make the same borders (also inside the triangles) as in the image, you can use pseudo elements and transform rotate :

DEMO

output :

HTML :

<div>Critiques</div>
<div>Messages sur le forum</div>
<div>Actualités</div>

CSS :

div{
    border-top:1px solid #ccc;
    border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;
    padding-right:12px;
    line-height:50px;
    float:left;
    width:200px;
    position:relative;
    z-index:0;
    text-align:center;
}

div:after,div:before{
    content:'';
    position:absolute;
    width:10px;
    height:10px;
    background:#fff;
    z-index:999;

    -ms-transform: rotate(45deg);
    -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg);
    transform: rotate(45deg);
}

div:before{
    border-right:1px solid #ccc;
    border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;
    top:0; left:-12px;

     -ms-transform-origin:100% 0;
    -webkit-transform-origin:100% 0;
    transform-origin:100% 0;
}

div:after{
    border-left:1px solid #ccc;
    border-top:1px solid #ccc;
    bottom:0;
    right:4px;

     -ms-transform-origin:0 100%;
    -webkit-transform-origin:0 100%;
    transform-origin:0 100%;
}
div:first-child:before, div:last-child:after{
    display:none;
}

Answer 2

You could that with css only but with an empty span (If you would like to have half triangles in the edges):

HTML

<ul>
    <li><span></span>one</li>
    <li><span></span>two</li>
    <li><span></span>three</li>
</ul>

CSS

    ul {
        font-size: 0;
    }

    li {
        background: red;
        display: inline-block;
        padding: 30px;
        font-size: 15px;
        position: relative;
    }

    span {
        position: absolute;
        top: 0;
        bottom: 0;
        left: 0;
        right: 0;
    }

    li:after {
        width: 0;
        height: 0;
        border-top: 10px solid white;
        border-left: 10px solid transparent;
        position: absolute;
        right: 0;
        top: 0;
        content: "";
    }

    li:before {
        width: 0;
        height: 0;
        border-top: 10px solid white;
        border-right: 10px solid transparent;
        position: absolute;
        left: 0;
        top: 0;
        content: "";
    }

    span:before {
        width: 0;
        height: 0;
        border-bottom: 10px solid white;
        border-right: 10px solid transparent;
        position: absolute;
        left: 0;
        bottom: 0;
        content: "";
    }

    span:after {
        width: 0;
        height: 0;
        border-bottom: 10px solid white;
        border-left: 10px solid transparent;
        position: absolute;
        right: 0;
        bottom: 0;
        content: "";
    }

An example: http://jsfiddle.net/fC9Fs/

Answer 3

You can do this with an octagon shape, as shown in this link .

The relevant code:

#octagon { width: 100px; height: 100px; background: red; position: relative; } 
#octagon:before { content: ""; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; border-bottom: 29px solid red; border-left: 29px solid #eee; border-right: 29px solid #eee; width: 42px; height: 0; } #octagon:after { content: ""; position: absolute; bottom: 0; left: 0; border-top: 29px solid red; border-left: 29px solid #eee; border-right: 29px solid #eee; width: 42px; height: 0; }

You can edit the borders from the above code to get the exact shape you want.

Answer 4

Here is another take on it:

This one works with a basic list and no other HTML is needed.

Also as you've shown in your image, the first and last elements do not have the arrow.

Fiddle

HTML:

<ul>
    <li>One</li>
    <li>Two</li>
    <li>Three</li>
</ul>

CSS:

html, body{
    background:#E5E2E2;
}

ul{
    display:inline-block;
    list-style-type:none;
    border:1px solid #CCCCCC;
    padding:0;
}

li{
    float:left;
    padding:10px 15px;
    background:#F4F4F4;
    position:relative;
}

li:nth-child(n+2):before{
    content:'';
    position:absolute;
    left:-5px;
    top:-1px;
    width: 0;
    height: 0;
    border-left: 5px solid transparent;
    border-right: 5px solid transparent;
    border-top: 10px solid #e5e2e2;
}

li:nth-child(n+2):after{
    content:'';
    position:absolute;
    left:-5px;
    bottom:-1px;
    width: 0;
    height: 0;
    border-left: 5px solid transparent;
    border-right: 5px solid transparent;
    border-bottom: 10px solid #e5e2e2;
}

Answer 5

I come with another pseudo options that allows to cut corners and allow to see main background behind: DEMO

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Borders can be done too : DEMO with borders

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The method is to draw background-color from box-shadow on rotated pseudo-elements wich basic border triangle cannot achieve. Pseudo element can take almost any shapes from radius and transform ... if that gives some ideas :)