Basics of Tables in HTML

The basic structure of HTML for tables is:

  <table border=6 cellspacing=10 cellpadding=4>
  <!--First Row-->
  <tr>
  <td>First Cell in First Row</td>
  <td>Second Cell in First Row</td>
  <td>Third Cell in First Row</td>
  <td>Fourth Cell in First Row</td>
  </tr>

  <!--Second Row-->
  <tr>
  <td>First Cell in Second Row</td>
  <td>Second Cell in Second Row</td>
  <td>Third Cell in Second Row</td>
  <td>Fourth Cell in Second Row</td>
  </tr>

  <!--Third Row-->
  <tr>
  <td>First Cell in Third Row</td>
  <td>Second Cell in Third Row</td>
  <td>Third Cell in Third Row</td>
  <td>Fourth Cell in Third Row</td>
  </tr>

  </table>

which produces:

First Cell in First Row Second Cell in First Row Third Cell in First Row Fourth Cell in First Row

First Cell in Second Row Second Cell in Second Row Third Cell in Second Row Fourth Cell in Second Row

First Cell in Third Row Second Cell in Third Row Third Cell in Third Row Fourth Cell in Third Row

The adjustments one can make in the table tag are:

border=x thickness in pixels of the beveled edge outer margin. If x=0 then the table has no visible cell markings. this can be useful for creative display of text on the screen. As examples, see how the HTML is constructed in the "About NetScape" page. Tables here are used for controlling text placement as well as making the TM superscript. Another good example fo the borderless table is seen on the WWW developers Virtual Library. We've used borderless tables on our Director Web
cellspacing=x thickness of the inner cell dividing lines. If not included it defaults to 1
cellpadding=x thickness of the blank space between the cell contents and the cell margins- i.e. small values will make the text come close to the walls of the table cells. If not included, the deafult value is 1

There are many other options for modifying the basic structure. You can apply any HTML to the contents within the cells, including graphics. For more information, see NetScape's Implementation of Tables, W3 Consortium's Toward Graceful Deployment of Tables in HTML or the WWW Developers Virtual Library

Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI)
Maricopa County Community College District, Arizona

The Internet Connection at MCLI is Alan Levine --}
Comments to levine@maricopa.edu

First Cell in First Row	Second Cell in First Row	Third Cell in First Row	Fourth Cell in First Row
First Cell in Second Row	Second Cell in Second Row	Third Cell in Second Row	Fourth Cell in Second Row
First Cell in Third Row	Second Cell in Third Row	Third Cell in Third Row	Fourth Cell in Third Row