Bootstrap 3 modal vertical position center

Question

.modal {
  text-align: center;
}

@media screen and (min-width: 768px) { 
  .modal:before {
    display: inline-block;
    vertical-align: middle;
    content: " ";
    height: 100%;
  }
}

.modal-dialog {
  display: inline-block;
  text-align: left;
  vertical-align: middle;
}

And adjust a little bit .fade class to make sure it appears out of the top border of window, instead of center

1. How can you position the modal vertically in the center when you don't know the exact height of the modal?

To absolute center the Bootstrap 3 Modal without declaring a height, you will first need to overwrite the Bootstrap CSS by adding this to your style sheet:

.modal-dialog-center { /* Edited classname 10/03/2014 */
    margin: 0;
    position: absolute;
    top: 50%;
    left: 50%;
}

This will position the modal-dialogs top-left corner in the center of the window.

We have to add this media query or else the modal margin-left is wrong on small devices:

@media (max-width: 767px) {
  .modal-dialog-center { /* Edited classname 10/03/2014 */
    width: 100%;
  }
} 

Now we will need to adjust its position with JavaScript. To do that we give the element a negative top and left margin equal to half of its height and width. In this example we will be using jQuery since it is available with Bootstrap.

$('.modal').on('shown.bs.modal', function() {
    $(this).find('.modal-dialog').css({
        'margin-top': function () {
            return -($(this).outerHeight() / 2);
        },
        'margin-left': function () {
            return -($(this).outerWidth() / 2);
        }
    });
});

Update (01/10/2015):

Adding on Finik's answer. Credits to Centering in the Unknown.

.modal {
  text-align: center;
  padding: 0!important;
}

.modal:before {
  content: '';
  display: inline-block;
  height: 100%;
  vertical-align: middle;
  margin-right: -4px; /* Adjusts for spacing */
}

.modal-dialog {
  display: inline-block;
  text-align: left;
  vertical-align: middle;
}

Notice the negative margin-right? This removes the space added by inline-block. That space causes the modal to jump to the bottom of the page @media width < 768px.

2. Is it possible to have the modal centered and have overflow:auto in the modal-body, but only if the modal exceeds the screen height?

This is possible by giving the modal-body an overflow-y:auto and a max-height. This takes a bit more work to get it working properly. Start with adding this to your style sheet:

.modal-body {
    overflow-y: auto;
}
.modal-footer {
    margin-top: 0;
}

We will use jQuery again to get the window height and set the max-height of the modal-content first. Then we have to set the max-height of the modal-body, by subtracting the modal-content with the modal-header and modal-footer:

$('.modal').on('shown.bs.modal', function() {
    var contentHeight = $(window).height() - 60;
    var headerHeight = $(this).find('.modal-header').outerHeight() || 2;
    var footerHeight = $(this).find('.modal-footer').outerHeight() || 2;

    $(this).find('.modal-content').css({
        'max-height': function () {
            return contentHeight;
        }
    });

    $(this).find('.modal-body').css({
        'max-height': function () {
            return (contentHeight - (headerHeight + footerHeight));
        }
    });

    $(this).find('.modal-dialog').css({
        'margin-top': function () {
            return -($(this).outerHeight() / 2);
        },
        'margin-left': function () {
            return -($(this).outerWidth() / 2);
        }
    });
});

You can find a working demo here with Bootstrap 3.0.3: http://cdpn.io/GwvrJ EDIT: I recommend using the updated version instead for a more responsive solution: http://cdpn.io/mKfCc

Update (30/11/2015):

function setModalMaxHeight(element) {
  this.$element     = $(element);  
  this.$content     = this.$element.find('.modal-content');
  var borderWidth   = this.$content.outerHeight() - this.$content.innerHeight();
  var dialogMargin  = $(window).width() < 768 ? 20 : 60;
  var contentHeight = $(window).height() - (dialogMargin + borderWidth);
  var headerHeight  = this.$element.find('.modal-header').outerHeight() || 0;
  var footerHeight  = this.$element.find('.modal-footer').outerHeight() || 0;
  var maxHeight     = contentHeight - (headerHeight + footerHeight);

  this.$content.css({
      'overflow': 'hidden'
  });

  this.$element
    .find('.modal-body').css({
      'max-height': maxHeight,
      'overflow-y': 'auto'
  });
}

$('.modal').on('show.bs.modal', function() {
  $(this).show();
  setModalMaxHeight(this);
});

$(window).resize(function() {
  if ($('.modal.in').length != 0) {
    setModalMaxHeight($('.modal.in'));
  }
});

(Updated 30/11/2015 http://cdpn.io/mKfCc with above edit)

My solution

.modal-dialog-center {
    margin-top: 25%;
}

    <div id="waitForm" class="modal">
        <div class="modal-dialog modal-dialog-center">
            <div class="modal-content">
                <div class="modal-header">
                    <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-hidden="true">×</button>
                    <h4 id="headerBlock" class="modal-title"></h4>
                </div>
                <div class="modal-body">
                    <span id="bodyBlock"></span>
                    <br/>
                    <p style="text-align: center">
                        <img src="@Url.Content("~/Content/images/progress-loader.gif")" alt="progress"/>
                    </p>   
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

It can simply can be fixed with display: flex

.modal-dialog {
  margin-top: 0;
  margin-bottom: 0;
  height: 100vh;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
}

.modal.fade .modal-dialog {
  transform: translate(0, -100%);
}

.modal.in .modal-dialog {
  transform: translate(0, 0);
}

With prefix

.modal-dialog {
  margin-top: 0;
  margin-bottom: 0;
  height: 100vh;
  display: -webkit-box;
  display: -webkit-flex;
  display: -ms-flexbox;
  display: flex;
  -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
  -webkit-box-direction: normal;
  -webkit-flex-direction: column;
      -ms-flex-direction: column;
          flex-direction: column;
  -webkit-box-pack: center;
  -webkit-justify-content: center;
      -ms-flex-pack: center;
          justify-content: center;
}

.modal.fade .modal-dialog {
  -webkit-transform: translate(0, -100%);
          transform: translate(0, -100%);
}
.modal.in .modal-dialog {
  -webkit-transform: translate(0, 0);
          transform: translate(0, 0);
}

If you're okay with using flexbox then this should help solve it.

.modal-dialog {
  height: 100%;
  width: 100%;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
}

.modal-content {
  margin: 0 auto;
}

I came up with a pure css solution! It's css3 though, which means ie8 or lower is not supported, but other than this it's tested and working on ios, android, ie9+, chrome, firefox, desktop safari..

I am using the following css:

.modal-dialog {
  position:absolute;
  top:50% !important;
  transform: translate(0, -50%) !important;
  -ms-transform: translate(0, -50%) !important;
  -webkit-transform: translate(0, -50%) !important;
  margin:auto 5%;
  width:90%;
  height:80%;
}
.modal-content {
  min-height:100%;
  position:absolute;
  top:0;
  bottom:0;
  left:0;
  right:0; 
}
.modal-body {
  position:absolute;
  top:45px; /** height of header **/
  bottom:45px;  /** height of footer **/
  left:0;
  right:0;
  overflow-y:auto;
}
.modal-footer {
  position:absolute;
  bottom:0;
  left:0;
  right:0;
}

Here is a fiddle. http://codepen.io/anon/pen/Hiskj

..selecting this as the correct answer since there's no extra heavy javascript that brings the browser to its knees in case of more than one modals.

My solution:

.modal.in .modal-dialog 
{
    -webkit-transform: translate(0, calc(50vh - 50%));
    -ms-transform: translate(0, 50vh) translate(0, -50%);
    -o-transform: translate(0, calc(50vh - 50%));
    transform: translate(0, 50vh) translate(0, -50%);
}