Help:Table
This is a copy of the master help page at m:Help:Table. Do not edit this page. Edits will be lost in the next update from the master page. Either edit the master help page for all projects at Meta, or edit the project-specific text at Template:Ph:Table. You are welcome to copy the exact wikitext from the master page at Meta and paste it into this page at any time.
Pipe syntax
editAlthough HTML table syntax also works, special wikicode can be used to create a table, as follows:
- The entire table begins with a line "
{|
optional table parameters " and ends with the line "|}
". - An optional table caption is included with a line "
|+
caption " after "{|
". - The code for a table row consists of the line "
|-
optional table parameters ", and, starting on a new line, the codes for the cells in the row, separated by newline or "|" - Table data are the codes for the cells; cell code is of the form "| value " or "| cell parameters | value "
- a row of column headings is identified by using "!" instead of "|", except for the separator between a cell parameter and a value; the difference with a normal row depends on the browser, column headings are often rendered in a bold font.
- the first cell of a row is identified as row heading by starting the line with "!" instead of "|", and starting subsequent data cells on a new line.
The table parameters and cell parameters are the same as in HTML, see [1] and HTML element#Tables. However, the thead
, tbody
, tfoot
, colgroup
, and col
elements are currently not supported in MediaWiki.
A table can be useful even if none of the cells have content, notably because with the use of background colors of cells the table can be a diagram, see e.g. m:Template talk:Square 8x8 pentomino example. An "image" in the form of a table is much more convenient to edit than an uploaded image.
Each row must have the same number of cells as the other rows, so that the number of columns in the table remains consistent (unless there are cells which span several columns or rows, see colspan and rowspan in Mélange example below). For empty cells, use the non-breaking space
as content to ensure that the cells are displayed.
Examples
editSimple example
edit{| | Cell 1, row 1 | Cell 2, row 1 |- | Cell 1, row 2 | Cell 2, row 2 |}
and
{| | Cell 1, row 1 || Cell 2, row 1 |- | Cell 1, row 2 || Cell 2, row 2 |}
both generate
Cell 1, row 1 | Cell 2, row 1 |
Cell 1, row 2 | Cell 2, row 2 |
Multiplication table
editSource code
edit{| border="1" cellpadding="2" |+Multiplication table |- ! × !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 |- ! 1 | 1 || 2 || 3 |- ! 2 | 2 || 4 || 6 |- ! 3 | 3 || 6 || 9 |- ! 4 | 4 || 8 || 12 |- ! 5 | 5 || 10 || 15 |}
Appearance
edit
Multiplication table × 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 2 2 4 6 3 3 6 9 4 4 8 12 5 5 10 15
Color; scope of parameters
editTwo ways of specifying color of text and background for a single cell are as follows:
{| | style="background:red; color:white" | abc | def | style="background:red; color:white" | ghi | jkl |}
gives
abc< | def | ghi | jkl |
As shown "font" works for one cell only, even without end tag: the end tag is produced by the system.
Like other parameters, colors can also be specified for a whole row or the whole table; parameters for a row override the value for the table, and those for a cell override those for a row:
{| style="background:yellow; color:green" |- | abc | def | ghi |- style="background:red; color:white" | jkl | mno | pqr |- | stu | style="background:silver" | vwx | yz |}
gives
abc | def | ghi |
jkl | mno | pqr |
stu | vwx | yz |
The HTML 4.01 specification defines sixteen named colors, here shown with hexadecimal values:
black | #000000 | silver | #c0c0c0 | maroon | #800000 | red | #ff0000 | |||
navy | #000080 | blue | #0000ff | purple | #800080 | fuchsia | #ff00ff | |||
green | #008000 | lime | #00ff00 | olive | #808000 | Yellow | #ffff00 | |||
teal | #008080 | aqua | #00ffff | gray | #808080 | white | #ffffff |
See w:en:web colors.
Width, height
editThe width and height of the whole table can be specified, as well as the height of a row. To specify the width of a column one can specify the width of an arbitrary cell in it. If the width is not specified for all columns, and/or the height is not specified for all rows, then there is some ambiguity, and the result depends on the browser.
{| style="width:400px; height:200px" border="1" |- | abc | def | ghi |- style="height:100px" | jkl | style="width:200px" |mno | pqr |- | stu | vwx | yz |}
gives
abc | def | ghi |
jkl | mno | pqr |
stu | vwx | yz |
Positioning
editOne can position the table itself, and all contents in a row, and contents in a cell, but not with a single parameter all contents in the table, see m:Template talk:Table demo. Do not, under any circumstances, use "float" to position a table. It will break page rendering at large font sizes.
Mélange
editHere's a more advanced example, showing some more options available for making up tables. You can play with these settings in your own table to see what effect they have. Not all of these techniques may be appropriate in all cases; just because you can add colored backgrounds, for example, doesn't mean it's always a good idea. Try to keep the markup in your tables relatively simple -- remember, other people are going to be editing the article too! This example should give you an idea of what is possible, though.
Source code
edit{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" align="center" |+'''An example table''' |- ! style="background:#efefef;" | First header ! colspan="2" style="background:#ffdead;" | Second header |- | upper left | | rowspan=2 style="border-bottom:3px solid grey;" valign="top" | right side |- | style="border-bottom:3px solid grey;" | lower left | style="border-bottom:3px solid grey;" | lower middle |- | colspan="3" align="center" | {| border="0" |+''A table in a table'' |- | align="center" width="150px" | [[Image:Wikiquote-logo-en.png]] | align="center" width="150px" | [[Image:Wikiquote-logo-en.png]] |- | align="center" colspan="2" style="border-top:1px solid red; border-right:1px solid red; border-bottom:2px solid red; border-left:1px solid red;" | Two Wikipedia logos |} |}
Appearance
edit
An example table First header Second header upper left right side
lower left lower middle
A table in a table Two Wikipedia logos
Advanced example
edit{| align=right border=1 | Cell 1, row 1 |rowspan=2| Cell 2, row 1 (and 2) | Cell 3, row 1 |- | Cell 1, row 2 | Cell 3, row 2 |}
Cell 1, row 1 | Cell 2, row 1 (and 2) | Cell 3, row 1 |
Cell 1, row 2 | Cell 3, row 2 |
Note the floating table to the right.
Nested table
edit{| border=1 | α | align="center" | cell2 {| border=2 style="background-color:#ABCDEF;" | NESTED |- | TABLE |} | valign="bottom" | the original table again |}
gives a nested table
α | cell2
|
the original table again |
Nested tables have to start on a new line.
Combined use of COLSPAN and ROWSPAN
edit{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" |- ! Column 1 || Column 2 || Column 3 |- | rowspan=2| A | colspan=2 align="center"| B |- | C | D |- | E | colspan=2 align="center"| F |- | rowspan=3| G | H | I |- | J | K |- | colspan=2 align="center"| L |}
Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
---|---|---|
A | B | |
C | D | |
E | F | |
G | H | I |
J | K | |
L |
Other table syntax
editOther types of table syntax that MediaWiki supports:
- XHTML
- HTML and wiki <td> syntax
All three are supported by MediaWiki and create (currently) valid HTML output, but the pipe syntax is the simplest, except perhaps for people who are already familiar with HTML. Also, HTML and wiki <td> syntax will not necessarily remain browser-supported in the upcoming future, especially on handheld internet-accessible devices.
See also HTML element#Tables. Note however that the thead
, tbody
, tfoot
, colgroup
, and col
elements are currently not supported in MediaWiki.
Comparison
editXHTML | HTML & Wiki-td | Wiki-pipe | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Table | <table></table> | <table></table> | {| params |} | ||||||
Caption | <caption></caption> | <caption></caption> | |+ caption | ||||||
Row | <tr></tr> | <tr> | |- params | ||||||
Data cell |
<td>cell1</td> |
<td>cell1 |
| cell1 | cell2 | ||||||
Data cell | <td>cell1</td> <td>cell2</td> <td>cell3</td> | <td>cell1 <td>cell2 <td>cell3 | |cell1||cell2||cell3 | ||||||
Header cell | <th></th> | <th> | ! heading | ||||||
Sample table |
| ||||||||
<table> <tr> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>3</td> <td>4</td> </tr> </table> | <table> <tr> <td> 1 <td> 2 <tr> <td> 3 <td> 4 </table> | {| | 1 || 2 |- | 3 || 4 |} | |||||||
Sample table |
| ||||||||
<table> <tr> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>3</td> <td>4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>5</td> <td>6</td> </tr> </table> | <table> <tr> <td> 1 <td> 2 <tr> <td> 3 <td> 4 <tr> <td> 5 <td> 6 </table> | {| | 1 || 2 |- | 3 || 4 |- | 5 || 6 |} | |||||||
Pros |
Can be previewed/debugged with any XHTML editor Can be formatted for easier reading Well-known |
Can be previewed/debugged with any HTML editor Can be formatted for easier reading Well-known Takes less space than XHTML |
Easy to write Easy to read Takes little space | ||||||
Cons |
Tedious Takes a lot of space Difficult to read quickly |
Confusing, especially for people with little HTML experience Poorly formed Poorly delimited Generally odd looking May not have browser support in future |
Unfamiliar syntax Rigid structure Cannot be indented Text (as in HTML tags) may be easier for some people to read than series of pipes, plus signs, exclamation marks, etc. | ||||||
XHTML | HTML & Wiki-td | Wiki-pipe |
Pipe syntax in terms of the HTML produced
editThe pipe syntax, developed by Magnus Manske, substitutes pipes (|) for HTML. There is an on-line script which converts html tables to pipe syntax tables.
The pipes must start at the beginning of a new line, except when separating parameters from content or when using ||
to separate cells on a single line. The parameters are optional.
Tables
editA table is defined by {| ''params'' |} which equals <table ''params''>Insert non-formatted text here </table>
- Careful: You must include the space between
{|
andparams
, or the first parameter gets ignored.
Rows
edit<tr> tags will be generated automatically for the first row. To start a new row, use
|-
which results in
<tr>
Parameters can be added like this:
|- params
which results in
<tr params>
Note:
- <tr> tags will be automatically opened at the first <td> equivalent
- <tr> tags will be automatically closed at <tr> and </table> equivalents
Cells
editCells are generated either like this:
|cell1 |cell2 |cell3
or like this:
|cell1||cell2||cell3
which both equal
<td>cell1</td><td>cell2</td><td>cell3</td>
so "||" equals "newline" + "|"
Parameters in cells can be used like this:
|params|cell1||params|cell2||params|cell3
which will result in
<td params>cell1 <td params>cell2 <td params>cell3
Headers
editFunctions the same way as TD, except "!" is used instead of the opening "|". "!!" can be used instead of "||". Parameters still use "|", though! Example:
!params|cell1
Captions
editA <caption> tag is created by
|+ Caption
which generates
<caption>Caption</caption>
You can also use parameters:
|+ params|Caption
which will generate
<caption params>Caption</caption>
Text next to a table
edit(To see demonstrated effects, you may have to increase or decrease the fontsize setting of the browser; also you can vary the width of the browser window.)
You can use align=right, text after the table code appears to the left of the table.
× | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
3 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
4 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
5 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
here begins the text immediately after 5*3 multiplication table. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Duis tellus. Donec ante dolor, iaculis nec, gravida ac, cursus in, eros. Mauris vestibulum, felis et egestas ullamcorper, purus nibh vehicula sem, eu egestas ante nisl non justo. Fusce tincidunt, lorem nec dapibus consectetuer, leo orci mollis ipsum, eget suscipit eros purus in ante. At ipsum vitae est lacinia tincidunt. Maecenas elit orci, gravida ut, molestie non, venenatis vel, lorem. Sed lacinia. Suspendisse potenti. Sed ultricies cursus lectus. In id magna sit amet nibh suscipit euismod. Integer enim. Donec sapien ante, accumsan ut, sodales commodo, auctor quis, lacus. Maecenas a elit lacinia urna posuere sodales. Curabitur pede pede, molestie id, blandit vitae, varius ac, purus. Mauris at ipsum vitae est lacinia tincidunt. Maecenas elit orci, gravida ut, molestie non, venenatis vel, lorem. Sed lacinia. Suspendisse potenti. Sed ultricies cursus lectus. In id magna sit amet nibh suscipit euismod. Integer enim. Donec sapien ante, accumsan ut, sodales commodo, auctor quis, lacus. Maecenas a elit lacinia urna posuere sodales. Curabitur pede pede, molestie id, blandit vitae, varius ac, purus.
However, do not put preformatted text there, it may overlap the table because it does not wrap. To prevent this, use <br style="clear:both;">:
× | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
3 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
4 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
here begins the text immediately after 4*3 multiplication table. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Duis tellus. Donec ante dolor, iaculis nec, gravida ac, cursus in, eros. Mauris vestibulum, felis et egestas ullamcorper, purus nibh vehicula sem, eu egestas ante nisl non justo. Fusce tincidunt, lorem nec dapibus consectetuer, leo orci mollis ipsum, eget suscipit eros purus in ante. now comes the cleared BR:
here it was so preformatted text will start only after the table ended
You can use align=left, table will appear at the left and the following text to the right of it (but perhaps too close):
× | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
here begins the text immediately after 2*3 multiplication table. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Duis tellus. Donec ante dolor, iaculis nec, gravida ac, cursus in, eros. Mauris vestibulum, felis et egestas ullamcorper, purus nibh vehicula sem, eu egestas ante nisl non justo. Fusce tincidunt, lorem nec dapibus consectetuer, leo orci mollis ipsum, eget suscipit eros purus in ante. At ipsum vitae est lacinia tincidunt. Maecenas elit orci, gravida ut, molestie non, venenatis vel, lorem. Sed lacinia. Suspendisse potenti. Sed ultricies cursus lectus. In id magna sit amet nibh suscipit euismod. Integer enim. Donec sapien ante, accumsan ut, sodales commodo, auctor quis, lacus. Maecenas a elit lacinia urna posuere sodales. Curabitur pede pede, molestie id, blandit vitae, varius ac, purus. Mauris at ipsum vitae est lacinia tincidunt. Maecenas elit orci, gravida ut, molestie non, venenatis vel, lorem. Sed lacinia. Suspendisse potenti. Sed ultricies cursus lectus. In id magna sit amet nibh suscipit euismod. Integer enim. Donec sapien ante, accumsan ut, sodales commodo, auctor quis, lacus. Maecenas a elit lacinia urna posuere sodales. Curabitur pede pede, molestie id, blandit vitae, varius ac, purus.
Space around a table, image, or text
editTo create space around a table, image, or text, create a 1×1 table around it, with cellpadding:
|
text in box |
Setting your column widths
editIf you wish to force column widths to your own requirements, rather than accepting the width of the widest text element in a column's cells, then follow this example. Note that wrap-around of text is forced.
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" !width="50"|Name !width="225"|Effect !width="225"|Games Found In |- |Pokeball |Regular Pokeball |All Versions |- |Great Ball |Better than a Pokeball |All Versions |}
Name Effect Games Found In Pokeball Regular Pokeball All Versions Great Ball Better than a Pokeball All Versions
Setting parameters
editAt the start of a cell, add your parameter followed by a single pipe. For example width=300px| will set that cell to a width of 300 pixels. To set more than one parameter, leave a space between each one.
Wikipedia code
edit{| |- | bgcolor=red|cell1 || width=300px bgcolor=blue|cell2 || bgcolor=green|cell3 |}
What it looks like in your browser
edit
cell1 cell2 cell3
Decimal point alignment
editA method to get columns of numbers aligned at the decimal point is as follows:
<blockquote> {| cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 |align=right| 432 || . || 1 |- |align=right| 43 || . || 21 |- |align=right| 4 || . || 321 |} </blockquote>
gives
432 . 1 43 . 21 4 . 321
In simple cases one can dispense with the table feature and simply start the lines with a space, and put spaces to position the numbers:
432.1 43.21 4.321
Style templates
editSome users have created templates to make table styles easier. Instead of remembering table parameters, you just include an appropriate style template after the {|
. This helps keep table formatting consistent, and can allow a single change to the template to fix a problem or enhance the look of all tables that use it. For instance, this:
× | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
3 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
4 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
5 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
becomes this:
× | 1 | 2 | 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
3 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
4 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
5 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
simply by replacing the border="1" cellpadding="2"
section with class="wikitable"
.
All of these templates should be organized/listed in a single place, like here.
Gallery
editAs a by-product of the image gallery feature, a table can be made with the gallery tag; if a text entry contains a link, the whole entry is ignored.
<gallery> Drenthe Flevoland Friesland Gelderland Groningen Limburg North Brabant (capital: [[Den Bosch]]) North Holland Overijssel South Holland Utrecht Zeeland </gallery>
gives:
See also
editExternal links
edit- HTML tables to wiki converter at cnic.org
- csv2wp - converts comma-separated values (CSV) format to pipe syntax. You may use this to import tables from Excel etc. (more information)
- HTML tables to wiki converter at wackyboy.com
- HTML tables to wiki converter at uni-bonn.de
- HTML tables to wiki converter at diberri.dyndns.org
- pywikipediabot (can convert HTML tables to wiki)
Wikiquote-specific content
editLinks to other help pages
editHelp contents - all pages in the Help namespace: Meta b: c: n: w: q: wikisource wiktionary
|
External Links
edit- Special page on the Wikipedia