Editing Help:Table (section)

=== Optional parameters ===

{{anchor|wikitable class}} Optional '''parameters''' can modify the display and styling of cells, rows, or the entire table. The simplest way to add styling is to set the <code>wikitable</code> [[CSS]] class, which in Wikipedia's [[MediaWiki:Common.css|external style sheet]] is defined to apply a gray color scheme and cell borders to tables using it:

<div class="box">
'''Wikitext'''
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" highlight=1>
{| class=wikitable
|+ The table's caption
! Column header 1
! Column header 2
! Column header 3
|-
! Row header 1
| Cell 2 || Cell 3
|-
! Row header A
| Cell B
| Cell C
|}
</syntaxhighlight></div>

<div class="box">
'''Produces'''
{| class=wikitable
|+ The table's caption
! Column header 1
! Column header 2
! Column header 3
|-
! Row header 1
| Cell 2 || Cell 3
|-
! Row header A
| Cell B
| Cell C
|}
</div>

The table parameters and cell parameters are the same as in [[HTML]], see&nbsp;http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/struct/tables.html#edef-TABLE and [[Table (HTML)]]. However, the {{tag|thead|o}}, {{tag|tbody|o}}, {{tag|tfoot|o}}, {{tag|colgroup|o}}, and {{tag|col|o}} elements are currently [[Help:HTML in wikitext#thead, tfoot, tbody|not supported in MediaWiki]], {{as of|lc=y|2021|12}}.

A table can be useful even if none of the cells have content. For example, the background colors of cells can be changed with cell parameters, making the table into a diagram, like [[meta:Template talk:Square 8x8 pentomino example]]. An "image" in the form of a table is much more convenient to edit than an uploaded image.

If all the cells in a row are empty the cells still show up. If the header cell is also empty for that row all the cells show up, but they are narrow. That can be fixed with a simple <nowiki><br></nowiki> in one of the cells. That is what is done here:
* {{oldid2|1206274265|Sorting buttons in a separate row|2024 revision of {{delink|{{slink|Help:Sortable tables#Sorting buttons in a separate row}}}}}}
{{t|sort under}} is simpler for putting the sorting arrows below the header text in order to narrow a table.   

With <code>colspan</code> and <code>rowspan</code> cells can span several columns or rows; {{see below|{{section link||Colspan and rowspan}}, below}}