table-layout

The table-layout CSS property defines the algorithm to be used to lay out table cells, rows, and columns.

Initial value	auto
Applies to	table and inline-table elements
Inherited	no
Media	visual
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete
Canonical order	the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
table-layout: auto;
table-layout: fixed;

/* Global values */
table-layout: inherit;
table-layout: initial;
table-layout: unset;

Values

auto

An automatic table layout algorithm is commonly used by most browsers for table layout. The width of the table and its cells depends on the content thereof.

fixed

Table and column widths are set by the widths of table and col elements or by the width of the first row of cells. Cells in subsequent rows do not affect column widths.

Under the "fixed" layout method, 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 may not fit in the column widths provided. Any cell that has content that overflows uses the overflow property to determine whether to clip the overflow content, but only if the table has a known width, otherwise it won't overflow the cells.

Formal syntax

auto | fixed

Examples

.contentbox {
  table-layout: fixed;
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'table-layout' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition

Browser compatibility