Help:Tables
From WikID
This page gives you information about syntax to build wiki-tables in MediaWiki.
Contents |
Spreadsheet to wiki table format
To convert from spreadsheets such as Gnumeric, MS Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc, go here.
Using the toolbar
You can use the Mediawiki edit toolbar to create tables on WikID. It is helpful to generate the necessary codings. However on many MediaWiki wikis (and by default) the table tool is not available.
Use the first button on the right of the toolbar to insert a table when editing a page.
By default, it includes the following text:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! header 1
! header 2
! header 3
|-
| row 1, cell 1
| row 1, cell 2
| row 1, cell 3
|-
| row 2, cell 1
| row 2, cell 2
| row 2, cell 3
|}
Pipe syntax tutorial
| Column heading 1 | Column heading 2 | Column heading 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Row heading 1 | Cell 2 | Cell 100 |
| Row heading A | Cell B | Cell C |
Although HTML table syntax also works, special wikicode can be used as a shortcut to create a table. The pipe (vertical bar) codes function exactly the same as HTML table markup, so a knowledge of HTML table code will help in understanding pipe code. The shortcuts are as follows:
- The entire table is encased with curly brackets and a vertical bar character (a pipe). So use
{|to begin a table, and|}to end it. Each one needs to be on its own line:
{| table code goes here |}
- An optional table caption is included with a line starting with a vertical bar and plus sign "
|+" and the caption after it:
{|
|+ caption
table code goes here
|}
- To start a new table row, type a vertical bar and a hyphen on its own line: "
|-". The codes for the cells in that row will start on the next line.
{|
|+ The table's caption
|-
cell code goes here
|-
cell code goes here
|}
- Type the codes for each table cell in the next row, starting with a bar:
{|
|+ The table's caption
|-
| cell codes go here
|-
| cells in the next row go here
| more cells in the same row here
|}
- Cells can be separated with either a new line and new bar, or by a double bar "||" on the same line. Both produce the same output:
{|
|+ The table's caption
|-
|Cell 1 || Cell 2 || Cell 3
|-
|Cell A
|Cell B
|Cell C
|}
- If you use single bars, then what might appear to be the first cell is in fact a format modifier applied to the cell, and the rest of your "cells" will be merged into one:
{| border="1"
|-
|format modifier (not displayed)|These all |(including the pipes)|go into |the first cell
|-
|}
which is probably not what you want:
| These all |(including the pipes)|go into |the first cell |
However, the format modifier is useful:
{| border="1"
|-
|Cell 1 (no modifier - not aligned)
|-
|align="right" |Cell 2 (right aligned)
|-
|}
| Cell 1 (no modifier - not aligned) |
| Cell 2 (right aligned) |
Just remember: no more than 2 single pipes on a line!
- a row of column headings is identified by using "!" instead of "|", and using "!!" instead of "||". Header cells typically render differently from regular cells, depending on the browser. They are often rendered in a bold font and centered.
{|
|+ The table's caption
! Column heading 1 !! Column heading 2 !! Column heading 3
|-
|Cell 1 || Cell 2 || Cell 3
|-
|Cell A
|Cell B
|Cell C
|}
- 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's caption
! Column heading 1 !! Column heading 2 !! Column heading 3
|-
! Row heading 1
| Cell 2 || Cell 3
|-
! Row heading A
|Cell B
|Cell C
|}
- Optional parameters can modify the behavior of cells, rows, or the entire table. For instance, a border could be added to the table:
{| border="1"
|+ The table's caption
! Column heading 1 !! Column heading 2 !! Column heading 3
|-
! Row heading 1
| Cell 2 || Cell 3
|-
! Row heading A
|Cell B
|Cell C
|}
The final table would display like this:
The table's caption Column heading 1 Column heading 2 Column heading 3 Row heading 1 Cell 2 Cell 3 Row heading A Cell B Cell C
The table parameters and cell parameters are the same as in HTML, see [1] and Table (HTML). 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. For example, the background colors of cells can be changed with cell parameters, making the table into a diagram, like Template:Mlm. 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. For empty cells, use the non-breaking space as content to ensure that the cells are displayed. To show a visible pipe in a cell, use <nowiki>|</nowiki> or |.
With colspan and rowspan cells can span several columns or rows, see the Mélange example below. However, this has the disadvantage that sorting does not work properly anymore.
Examples
Simple example
Both of these generate the same output. Choose a style based on the number of cells in each row and the total text inside each cell.
Wiki markup
{|
| A
| B
|-
| C
| D
|}
{|
| A || B
|-
| C || D
|}
What it looks like in your browser
A B C D
Multiplication table
Wiki markup
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+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
|}
What it looks like in your browser (see: Help:User_style)
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
Two ways of specifying color of text and background for a single cell are as follows. The first form is preferred:
Wiki markup
{|
| style="background:red; color:white" | abc
| def
| bgcolor="red" | <font color="white"> ghi </font>
| jkl
|}
What it looks like in your browser
abc def ghi jkl
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:
Wiki markup
{| style="background:yellow; color:green"
|-
| abc || def || ghi
|- style="background:red; color:white"
| jkl || mno || pqr
|-
| stu || style="background:silver" | vwx || yz
|}
What it looks like in your browser
abc def ghi jkl mno pqr stu vwx yz
To make the table blend in with the background, use style="background:none" or style="background:transparent". (Warning: style="background:inherit", does not work with some browsers, including IE6!)
See : style, background, list of colors, web colors
Width, height
The 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.
Wiki markup
{| style="width:75%; height:200px" border="1"
|-
| abc || def || ghi
|- style="height:100px"
| jkl || style="width:200px" |mno || pqr
|-
| stu || vwx || yz
|}
What it looks like in your browser
abc def ghi jkl mno pqr stu vwx yz
Note that style="inline CSS" has no effect with some browsers. If compatibility is important, equivalent older constructs like width="75%" should work on more browsers.
Setting your column widths
If 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
|-
|Poké Ball || Regular Poké Ball || All Versions
|-
|Great Ball || Better than a Poké Ball || All Versions
|}
Name Effect Games Found In Poké Ball Regular Poké Ball All Versions Great Ball Better than a Poké Ball All Versions
To set column widths in a table without headers, specify the width in the first cell for each column, like this:
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
|width="100pt"|This column is 100 points wide
|width="200pt"|This column is 200 points wide
|width="300pt"|This column is 300 points wide
|-
|blah || blih || bluh
|}
This column is 100 points wide This column is 200 points wide This column is 300 points wide blah blih bluh
One application of setting the widths is aligning columns of consecutive tables:
| Country | Capital |
|---|---|
| The Netherlands | Amsterdam |
| Country | Capital |
|---|---|
| France | Paris |
Vertical alignment
By default data in tables is vertically centrally aligned, which results in odd-looking layouts like this:
Row heading A longer piece of text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. A shorter piece of text. Row heading A longer piece of text.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. A shorter piece of text.
To fix this, apply the valign="top" attribute to the rows (unfortunately it seems to be necessary to apply this individually to every single row). For example:
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-valign="top"
|width="10%"|'''Row heading'''
|width="70%"|A longer piece of text. Lorem ipsum...
|width="20%"|A shorter piece of text.
|-valign="top"
|'''Row heading'''
|A longer piece of text. Lorem ipsum...
|A shorter piece of text.
|}
Row heading A longer piece of text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. A shorter piece of text. Row heading A longer piece of text.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. A shorter piece of text.
Positioning
One can position the table itself, and all contents in a row, and contents in a cell, but not with a single parameter for 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
Here's a more advanced example, showing some more options available for making up tables. Note however that with colspan and rowspan sorting does not work properly anymore.
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.
Wiki markup
{| 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:Wiki.png]]
| align="center" width="150px" | [[Image:Wiki.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 Wikimedia logos
|}
|}
What it looks like in your browser
An example table First header Second header upper left right side
lower left lower middle
A table in a table Image:Wiki.png Image:Wiki.png Two Wikimedia logos
Floating table
Wiki markup
This paragraph is before the table. Lorem ipsum dolor sit
amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad
minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation...
{| align="right" border="1"
| Col 1, row 1
|rowspan="2"| Col 2, row 1 (and 2)
| Col 3, row 1
|-
| Col 1, row 2
| Col 3, row 2
|}
Note the floating table to the right.
This paragraph is after the table. Lorem ipsum dolor sit
amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad
minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation...
What it looks like in your browser
This paragraph is before the table. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation...
Col 1, row 1 Col 2, row 1 (and 2) Col 3, row 1 Col 1, row 2 Col 3, row 2 Note the floating table to the right.
This paragraph is after the table. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation...
