HTML Tables

HTML Tables

With HTML you can create tables.

Tables

Tables are defined with the <table> tag. A table is divided into rows (with the <tr> tag), and each row is divided into data cells (with the <td> tag). The letters td stands for "table data," which is the content of a data cell. A data cell can contain text, images, lists, paragraphs, forms, horizontal rules, tables, etc.

<table border="1">
<tr>
<td>row 1, cell 1</td>
<td>row 1, cell 2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>row 2, cell 1</td>
<td>row 2, cell 2</td>
</tr>
</table>

How it looks in a browser:

row 1, cell 1row 1, cell 2
row 2, cell 1row 2, cell 2

Tables and the Border Attribute

If you do not specify a border attribute the table will be displayed without any borders. Sometimes this can be useful, but most of the time, you want the borders to show.

To display a table with borders, you will have to use the border attribute:

<table border="1">
<tr>
<td>Row 1, cell 1</td>
<td>Row 1, cell 2</td>
</tr>
</table>

Headings in a Table

Headings in a table are defined with the <th> tag.

<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>Heading</th>
<th>Another Heading</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>row 1, cell 1</td>
<td>row 1, cell 2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>row 2, cell 1</td>
<td>row 2, cell 2</td>
</tr>
</table>

How it looks in a browser:

HeadingAnother Heading
row 1, cell 1row 1, cell 2
row 2, cell 1row 2, cell 2

Empty Cells in a Table

Table cells with no content are not displayed very well in most browsers.

<table border="1">
<tr>
<td>row 1, cell 1</td>
<td>row 1, cell 2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>row 2, cell 1</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</table>

How it looks in a browser:

row 1, cell 1row 1, cell 2
row 2, cell 1

Note that the borders around the empty table cell are missing (NB! Mozilla Firefox displays the border).

To avoid this, add a non-breaking space (&nbsp;) to empty data cells, to make the borders visible: 

<table border="1">
<tr>
<td>row 1, cell 1</td>
<td>row 1, cell 2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>row 2, cell 1</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
</table>

How it looks in a browser:

row 1, cell 1row 1, cell 2
row 2, cell 1 

Basic Notes - Useful Tips

The <thead>,<tbody> and <tfoot> elements are seldom used, because of bad browser support. Expect this to change in future versions of XHTML.

Table Tags

TagDescription
<table>Defines a table
<th>Defines a table header
<tr>Defines a table row
<td>Defines a table cell
<caption>Defines a table caption
<colgroup>Defines groups of table columns
<col>Defines the attribute values for one or more columns in a table
<thead>Defines a table head
<tbody>Defines a table body
<tfoot>Defines a table footer