Table Concepts

Tables contain cells organized in rows and columns. A line of cells running from the top to the bottom of a table is a column. A line of cells running from the left side to the right side of a table is a row.

We have control over many aspects of a table's appearance. For example, a cell can be stretched over, so it is two columns wide instead of the default width of one column. We can align data (which can be text, a graphic, a form, another table, etc.) to the right in a cell, instead of to the default, which is left.

It is very tempting to use tables for the layout of your documents. In fact, the entire Web Page Central uses tables for layout. Using tables in this way is risky. Your document may look totally screwed up on a browser that doesn't render tables. But with some careful planning, you can still get your info across. Here's how this page looks using Lynx. Notice how the "hot buttons" on the left are now the hot buttons on the top! But all the information is there (the links aren't displayed as such on this text file, but they're there in Lynx).

Next: Table Elements