table-layout
Baseline Widely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.
Try it
Syntax
/* Keyword values */
table-layout: auto;
table-layout: fixed;
/* Global values */
table-layout: inherit;
table-layout: initial;
table-layout: revert;
table-layout: revert-layer;
table-layout: unset;
Values
auto
-
The automatic table layout algorithm is used. The widths of the table and its cells are adjusted to fit the content. Most browsers use this algorithm by default.
fixed
-
The fixed table layout algorithm is used. When using this keyword, the table's width needs to be specified explicitly using the
width
property. If the value of thewidth
property is set toauto
or is not specified, the browser uses the automatic table layout algorithm, in which case thefixed
value has no effect.
The fixed table layout algorithm is faster than the automatic layout algorithm because the horizontal layout of the table depends only on the table's width, the width of the columns, and borders or cell spacing. The horizontal layout doesn't depend on the contents of the cells because it depends only on explicitly set widths.In the fixed table layout algorithm, the width of each column is determined as follows:
- A column element with explicit width sets the width for that column.
- Otherwise, a cell in the first row with explicit width determines the width for that column.
- Otherwise, the column gets the width from the shared remaining horizontal space.
With this algorithm the entire table can be rendered once the first table row has been downloaded and analyzed. This can speed up rendering time over the "automatic" layout method, but subsequent cell content might not fit in the column widths provided. Cells use the
overflow
property to determine whether to clip any overflowing content, but only if the table has a known width; otherwise, they won't overflow the cells.
Formal definition
Initial value | auto |
---|---|
Applies to | table and inline-table elements |
Inherited | no |
Computed value | as specified |
Animation type | discrete |
Formal syntax
table-layout =
auto |
fixed
Examples
Fixed-width tables with text-overflow
This example uses a fixed table layout, combined with the width
property, to restrict the table's width. The text-overflow
property is used to apply an ellipsis to words that are too long to fit. If the table layout were auto
, the table would grow to accommodate its contents, despite the specified width
.
HTML
<table>
<tr>
<td>Ed</td>
<td>Wood</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Albert</td>
<td>Schweitzer</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jane</td>
<td>Fonda</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>William</td>
<td>Shakespeare</td>
</tr>
</table>
CSS
table {
table-layout: fixed;
width: 120px;
border: 1px solid red;
}
td {
border: 1px solid blue;
overflow: hidden;
white-space: nowrap;
text-overflow: ellipsis;
}
Result
Specifications
Specification |
---|
Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 Revision 2 (CSS 2.2) Specification # width-layout |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser