Editing Table Styles in Regular Stylesheets

You can modify the look and feel of multiple tables at once by editing standard HTML table styles (e.g., table, th, td, tr) in your regular stylesheet. For example, you might use these styles in order to control the look of the text that appears in your table headings (th style) or within the cells (td style).

How to Edit Table Styles in a Regular Stylesheet

  1. Open the stylesheet you want to modify or create a new one.

  2. Complete one of the following sets of steps, depending on whether you want to use the Simplified view or Advanced view in the Stylesheet Editor.

    • Simplified The Simplified view displays styles in a grid view and is often best for brand new users.

      This view provides an easy way to apply properties to styles, with format options available from a toolbar and dialogs (similar to the way one would use an interface such as Microsoft Word). In some cases, only the most common property options are available in the Simplified view (e.g., font, letter/word spacing, paragraph alignment/indentation, autonumbering format, borders, background). One advantage of the Simplified view is that you can apply a property to multiple styles at the same time. You can also click a check box to hide the properties in the editor, allowing you to see only the styles.

    • Advanced The Advanced view displays styles in a tree structure, and despite the name, is user friendly for authors of all levels.

      For the properties, you can toggle between a grouped display and an alphabetical display. The Advanced view of the Stylesheet Editor lets you edit more settings than are available in the Simplified view. In addition, the Advanced view lets you see and apply settings to multiple mediums and media queries at the same time.

    If Using Simplified View

    1. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays The button to change the stylesheet to the simplified view. (which means that the Simplified view is currently shown in the editor). If the button displays The button to change the stylesheet to the advanced view. instead, then click it.
    2. In the upper-left corner of the editor, click in the drop-down field and select .
    3. From the grid below, select the appropriate table style.
      • caption Modifies the table caption, which is a short title or description of the table's purpose. When inserting or editing a table, you can add a caption above or below the table.
      • col Groups together attribute specifications for table columns. The <col> elements are empty and serve only as a support for attributes. They may appear inside or outside an explicit column group (i.e., <colgroup> element).
      • colgroup Groups columns together structurally. The number of columns in the column group may be specified by using the element's <span> tag or by the <col> element, which represents one or more columns in the group.
      • table Modifies an entire table. It contains all other elements that specify caption, rows, content, and formatting.
      • tbody Modifies the main rows in a table (i.e., not the header or footer rows). Each <tbody> tag must have at least one <tr> tag within it, which is used to represent a single row.

      • td Modifies the data (or content) in the primary cells of a table. When you press ENTER after the first paragraph in a table cell, a paragraph <p> tag is added inside each <td> tag in that cell.

      • tfoot Modifies a footer row in a table. When a table requires multiple pages in print layouts and outputs, the footer row is placed at the bottom of the last page. Each <tfoot> tag must have at least one <tr> tag within it, which is used to represent a single row.
      • th Modifies the header content in a table. Why not just use the <td> tag for header content as well? First, by having different tags, you can more easily dictate one look for the header text (e.g., bold font) and a different look for the main content in the table (e.g., normal font). Second, using separate tags greatly assists users with visual disabilities, making it possible for multi-modal wireless browsers with limited display capabilities (e.g., Web-enabled pagers and phones) to handle tables. When you press ENTER after the first paragraph in a table cell, a paragraph <p> tag is added inside each <th> tag in that cell.
      • thead Modifies a header row in a table. When a table requires multiple pages in output, the header row is repeated by default at the top of each page. Each <thead> tag must have at least one <tr> tag within it, which is used to represent a single row.
      • tr Modifies single rows that are contained within <tbody>, <tfoot>, and <thead> tags.

      For more about each of these, please refer to http://www.w3c.org.

    4. In the local toolbar of the editor, click Display properties for the selected item.. The Properties dialog opens.

    5. Use the fields on the various tabs to modify the settings for the style. The tabs included in the dialog depend on the type of style that you have selected.

      Most tabs are the same as those used for regular paragraph formatting.

      For example, you might want to adjust the vertical alignment of text (e.g., top, middle, bottom) in the td and th styles. You can do this by expanding the Cell property group and setting the vertical-align property.

    6. In the Properties dialog, click OK.

    If Using Advanced View

    1. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays The button to change the stylesheet to the advanced view.. If the button displays The button to change the stylesheet to the simplified view. instead, then click it.
    2. In the upper-left corner of the editor, click in the drop-down field and select .
    3. From the area below, select the appropriate table style.
      • caption Modifies the table caption, which is a short title or description of the table's purpose. When inserting or editing a table, you can add a caption above or below the table.
      • col Groups together attribute specifications for table columns. The <col> elements are empty and serve only as a support for attributes. They may appear inside or outside an explicit column group (i.e., <colgroup> element).
      • colgroup Groups columns together structurally. The number of columns in the column group may be specified by using the element's <span> tag or by the <col> element, which represents one or more columns in the group.
      • table Modifies an entire table. It contains all other elements that specify caption, rows, content, and formatting.
      • tbody Modifies the main rows in a table (i.e., not the header or footer rows). Each <tbody> tag must have at least one <tr> tag within it, which is used to represent a single row.

      • td Modifies the data (or content) in the primary cells of a table. When you press ENTER after the first paragraph in a table cell, a paragraph <p> tag is added inside each <td> tag in that cell.

      • tfoot Modifies a footer row in a table. When a table requires multiple pages in print layouts and outputs, the footer row is placed at the bottom of the last page. Each <tfoot> tag must have at least one <tr> tag within it, which is used to represent a single row.
      • th Modifies the header content in a table. Why not just use the <td> tag for header content as well? First, by having different tags, you can more easily dictate one look for the header text (e.g., bold font) and a different look for the main content in the table (e.g., normal font). Second, using separate tags greatly assists users with visual disabilities, making it possible for multi-modal wireless browsers with limited display capabilities (e.g., Web-enabled pagers and phones) to handle tables. When you press ENTER after the first paragraph in a table cell, a paragraph <p> tag is added inside each <th> tag in that cell.
      • thead Modifies a header row in a table. When a table requires multiple pages in output, the header row is repeated by default at the top of each page. Each <thead> tag must have at least one <tr> tag within it, which is used to represent a single row.
      • tr Modifies single rows that are contained within <tbody>, <tfoot>, and <thead> tags.

      For more about each of these, please refer to http://www.w3c.org.

    4. From the Show drop-down list on the upper-right side of the editor, select Filter using the drop-down to show assorted relevant properties in the stylesheet.. The most relevant properties for that style are shown on the right side of the editor.
    5. (Optional) You can use the toggle button in the local toolbar to show properties below in a group view Stylesheet local toolbar button to show properties in a group view. or an alphabetical view Stylesheet local toolbar button to show properties in an alphabetical view..

    6. Locate the property you want to change.

      Most of the relevant properties are the same as those used for regular paragraph formatting.

    7. The area to the right of the property is used for selecting and entering values. If you know how to enter the information correctly, you can click in the value field and type it directly. Otherwise, click the ellipsis button Display more options. to the right of the property. Depending on the type of property, the appropriate controls and options display, allowing you to choose or enter values (e.g., select from a drop-down list, click a button, complete fields in a dialog or popup). If you completed values in a popup, click OK at the bottom of the box.

      For example, you might want to adjust the vertical alignment of text (e.g., top, middle, bottom) in the td and th styles. You can do this by expanding the Cell property group and setting the vertical-align property.

  3. Click Save the active file. to save your work.