How can I make a div stick to the top of the screen once it's been scrolled to?

Question

I would like to create a div, that is situated beneath a block of content but that once the page has been scrolled enough to contact its top boundary, becomes fixed in place

Answer 1

My solution is a little verbose, but it handles variable positioning from the left edge for centered layouts.

// Ensurs that a element (usually a div) stays on the screen
//   aElementToStick   = The jQuery selector for the element to keep visible
global.makeSticky = function (aElementToStick) {
    var $elementToStick = $(aElementToStick);
    var top = $elementToStick.offset().top;
    var origPosition = $elementToStick.css('position');

    function positionFloater(a$Win) {
        // Set the original position to allow the browser to adjust the horizontal position
        $elementToStick.css('position', origPosition);

        // Test how far down the page is scrolled
        var scrollTop = a$Win.scrollTop();
        // If the page is scrolled passed the top of the element make it stick to the top of the screen
        if (top < scrollTop) {
            // Get the horizontal position
            var left = $elementToStick.offset().left;
            // Set the positioning as fixed to hold it's position
            $elementToStick.css('position', 'fixed');
            // Reuse the horizontal positioning
            $elementToStick.css('left', left);
            // Hold the element at the top of the screen
            $elementToStick.css('top', 0);
        }
    }

    // Perform initial positioning
    positionFloater($(window));

    // Reposition when the window resizes
    $(window).resize(function (e) {
        positionFloater($(this));
    });

    // Reposition when the window scrolls
    $(window).scroll(function (e) {
        positionFloater($(this));
    });
};