Vertically aligning CSS :before and :after content

You can also use tables to accomplish this, like:

.pdf {
  display: table;
}
.pdf:before {
  display: table-cell;
  vertical-align: middle;
}

Here is an example: https://jsfiddle.net/ar9fadd0/2/

EDIT: You can also use flex to accomplish this:

.pdf {
  display: flex;
}
.pdf:before {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
}

Here is an example: https://jsfiddle.net/ctqk0xq1/1/

I'm no CSS expert, but what happens if you put vertical-align: middle; into your .pdf:before directive?

I think a cleaner approach is to inherit the vertical alignment:

In html:

<div class="shortcut"><a href="#">Download</a></div>

And in css:

.shortcut {
    vertical-align: middle;
}
.shortcut > a:after {
    vertical-align: inherit;
{

This way the icon will align properly in any resolution/font-size combination. Great for use with icon fonts.

Answered my own question after reading your advice on the vertical-align CSS attribute. Thanks for the tip!

.pdf:before {
    padding: 0 5px 0 0;
    content: url(../img/icon/pdf_small.png);
    vertical-align: -50%;
}

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