HyperText Markup Language
What's New in 3.2?

HTML Tables

HTML Table Tags

<TABLE> ... </TABLE> encloses the entire table.
<TR> ... </TR> encloses each individual table row
<TD> ... </TD> encloses each individual table cell
<TH> ... </TH> encloses tables cells which are acting as headings (defaults to centered and bold)
<CAPTION> ... </CAPTION> encloses caption information for the table
Example:
<TABLE> <TR> <TH>Table Heading</TH><TH>Table Heading</TH> </TR> <TR> <TD>Table Data</TD><TD>Table Data</TD> </TR> </TABLE>
Displays as:

Table Heading Table Heading

Table Data Table Data

Table Heading	Table Heading
Table Data	Table Data

Attributes for the <TABLE> Tag

ALIGN=left | center | right
The ALIGN= attribute within the <TABLE> tag controls the alignment of the table itself, but not alignment of text within individual cells (although Netscape currently does not honor this attribute). This is set either in the TR element for an entire row, or in the TD and TH elements for individual cells.
WIDTH=n | "p%"
The WIDTH= attribute can be expressed as a pixel width or a percentage. It indicates the suggested width of the table, although the browser may ignore it if it is not physically possible. A "100%" value means the table will span across the entire browser window.
BORDER=n
The BORDER= attribute is used to surround the table and its cells with a border. If you use BORDER without a value, it defaults to a width of one. Otherwise the border is drawn as wide as you specify. You cannot widen or shrink the lines between table cells or rows.
CELLPADDING=n and CELLSPACING=n
The CELLPADDING= attribute indicates how many pixels there should be between a cell's contents and the border. CELLSPACING= indicates how much white space (in pixels) there should be between individual cells.

Attributes for the <TR> Tag

ALIGN= left | right | center, VALIGN=top | middle | bottom
Controls the horizontal and vertical alignment of the current cell. ALIGN= can be set for left, right or centered cells. VALIGN= indicates that the cell's contents align to the top, middle or bottom of the row cell.

Attributes for the <TH> and <TD> Tags

NOWRAP
This attribute indicates the contents of the current cell should not be wrapped. To break lines, you must then use the <BR> tag to prevent the entire cell from showing up as just one line.
ROWSPAN=n and COLSPAN=n
Indicates how many rows or columns a cell should overlap.
ALIGN= left | right | center, VALIGN=top | middle | bottom
Controls the horizontal and vertical alignment of the current cell. ALIGN= can be set for left, right or centered cells. VALIGN= indicates that the cell's contents align to the top, middle or bottom of the row cell.
WIDTH=n, HEIGHT=n
Suggests a width and height for this cell. This should be a value in pixels. Setting different widths for multiple cells in the same column, or different heights for multiple cells in one row can cause unexpected effects.

Examples

Use of tables to create columns
http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/congress/contents.html
Use of tables to create boundaries for text
http://www.loc.gov/staff/
Tables with and without borders
http://www.loc.gov/preserv/survey/ [Examble no longer exists].

Attributes for the <CAPTION> Tag

The <CAPTION> tag must appear directly after the opening <TABLE> and before the first <TR> tag

ALIGN=top | bottom
Controls the position of the table caption, above or below the table.

Example: Complex Table Code Using Caption

<TABLE BORDER=2 WIDTH="90%"> <CAPTION>Caption: Table with Merged Cells</CAPTION> <TR><TH ROWSPAN=2></TH> <TH COLSPAN=2>Average</TH> <TH ROWSPAN=2>other<BR>category</TH> <TH>Misc</TH></TR> <TR><TH>height</TH><TH>weight</TH></TR> <TR><TH ALIGN=LEFT>males</TH><TD>1.9</TD> <TD>0.003</TD></TR> <TR><TH ALIGN=LEFT ROWSPAN=2>females</TH> <TD>1.7</TD><TD>0.002</TD></TR> </TABLE>

Displays as:

Caption: Table with Merged Cells
	Average		other category
	height	weight	other category
males	1.9	0.003
females	1.7	0.002

Go to:

Library of Congress

Library of Congress Help Desk (07/13/99)

HyperText Markup LanguageWhat's New in 3.2?