Tables may be created in wiki pages.
As a general rule, it is best to avoid using a table unless you need one.
Table markup often complicates page editing.[1]
Wiki table markup summary
{|
table start, required
|+
table caption, optional; only between table start and table row
|-
table row, optional on first row—wiki engine assumes the first row
!
table header cell, optional. Consecutive table header cells may be added on same line separated by double marks (!!) or start on new lines, each with its own single mark (!).
|
table data cell, optional. Consecutive table data cells may be added on same line separated by double marks (||) or start on new lines, each with its own single mark (|).
|}
table end, required
The above marks must start on a new line except the double || and !! for optionally adding consecutive cells to a line. However, blank spaces at the beginning of a line are ignored.
HTML attributes. Each mark, except table end, optionally accepts one or more HTML attributes. Attributes must be on the same line as the mark. Separate attributes from each other with a single space.
Cells and caption (| or ||, ! or !!, and |+) hold content. So separate any attributes from content with a single pipe (|). Cell content may follow on same line or on following lines.
Table and row marks ({| and |-) do not directly hold content. Do not add pipe (|) after their optional attributes. If you erroneously add a pipe after attributes for the table mark or row mark the parser will delete it and your final attribute if it was touching the erroneous pipe!
Content may (a) follow its cell mark on the same line after any optional HTML attributes or (b) on lines below the cell mark. Content that uses wiki markup that itself needs to start on a new line, such as lists, headings, or nested tables, must be on its own new line.
Pipe character as content. To insert a pipe (|) character into a table, use the <nowiki>|</nowiki> escaping markup.
Basics
Create a table with editor toolbar
In wikitext editor, place the caret where you want to insert a table.
Then, in the toolbar, press “Advanced”, then choose Table button.
A dialog opens.
From the dialog, you can choose whether to enable a table header row, to stylize the table with border and to make the table sortable.
A preview example is displayed.
You can also set row and column counts you need. Then, press “Insert” button.
By default, the following code is generated:
Wikicode:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ Caption text
|-
! Header text !! Header text !! Header text
|-
| Example || Example || Example
|-
| Example || Example || Example
|-
| Example || Example || Example
|}
Result:
Caption text
Header text
Header text
Header text
Example
Example
Example
Example
Example
Example
Example
Example
Example
Minimal syntax
The following table lacks borders and good spacing but shows the simplest wiki markup table structure.
The cells in the same row can be listed on one line separated by || (two pipe symbols).
If the text in the cell should contain a line break, use ?<br/> instead.
Extra spaces within cells in the wiki markup, as in the wiki markup below, do not affect the actual table rendering.
You type
You get
{|
| Orange || Apple || more
|-
| Bread || Pie || more
|-
| Butter || Ice cream || and more
|}
Orange
Apple
more
Bread
Pie
more
Butter
Ice cream
and more
You can have longer text or more complex wiki syntax inside table cells, too:
You type
You get
{|
|Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consetetur sadipscing elitr,
sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt
ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat,
sed diam voluptua.
At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores
et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren,
no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet.
|
* Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
* consetetur sadipscing elitr
* sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt
|}
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consetetur sadipscing elitr,
sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt
ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat,
sed diam voluptua.
At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores
et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren,
no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum
dolor sit amet.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
consetetur sadipscing elitr
sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt
Table headers
Table headers can be created by using "!" (exclamation mark) instead of "|" (pipe symbol).
Headers usually show up bold and centered by default.
The use of the wrapping div.noresize will ensure your table is optimized for mobile and is extremely important for large tables e.g. tables with more than 4 columns or large columns.
Failure to use this element will cause your content to overlap UI elements e.g. the Vector 2022 sidebar or to break mobile display.
This will cause the table to have a horizontal scroll bar when the table is too big for the content.
You can also use cell attributes when you are listing multiple cells on a single line.
Note that the cells are separated by ||, and within each cell the attribute(s) and value are separated by |.
If "border-width:" has more than one number, the four numbers are for top, right, bottom, left (REMEMBER clockwise order ↑→↓←):
You type
You get
{|style="border-style: solid; border-width: 10px 20px 100px 0"
|
Hello
|}
Hello
When there are fewer than 4 values :
three values i.e. top, right, bottom: then the default value for left is the one of right (second value). Width is then the same on left and right side.
two values i.e. top, right: then the default value for bottom is the one of top (first value), and left by default is assigned the value of right (second value). Width on top is then the same as on bottom; width on left is the same as on right.
one value i.e. top: then the default value for right is the one of top and it is the same for bottom and left. The fourth width are the same and build a regular border. This is a writing shortcut.
Another method to define the widths of the four sides of a cell is to use "border-left", "border-right", "border-top" and "border-bottom":
The HTML attributes (such as "width=", "border=", "cellspacing=", "cellpadding=") do not need any length unit (the pixel unit is assumed).
They are also invalid in HTML 5.
"Cellpadding" is for setting the space between the cell wall and the cell content.[2]
The CSS style properties (which override the HTML attributes) require an explicit length unit (if the value is not 0) such as "px" for the pixel.
With HTML attributes and CSS styles
CSS style attributes can be added with or without other HTML attributes.
It represents the internal margin between the contents and the border of the cell.
You type
You get
{|class=wikitable
| style="padding: 10px" | Example of style="padding:10px"
|-
| style="padding: 50px" | Example of style="padding:50px"<br/><br/>Specify the padding on '''EACH CELL'''
|-
| style="padding:100px" | Example of style="padding:100px"
|}
Example of style="padding:10px"
Example of style="padding:50px"
Specify the padding on EACH CELL
Example of style="padding:100px"
Column width
Column width can be added as follows.
You type:
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 85%;"
| colspan="2" | This column width is 85% of the screen width
|-
| style="width: 30%"| '''This column is 30% counted from 85% of the screen width'''
| style="width: 70%"| '''This column is 70% counted from 85% of the screen width'''
|}
You get:
This column width is 85% of the screen width
This column is 30% counted from 85% of the screen width
This column is 70% counted from 85% of the screen width
Accessibility of table header cells
Table header cells do not explicitly specify which table data cells they apply to (those on their right on the same row, or those below them on the same column).
When the table is rendered in a visual 2D environment, this is usually easy to infer.
However when tables are rendered on non-visual media, you can help the browser to determine which table header cell applies to the description of any selected cell (in order to repeat its content in some accessibility helper) using a scope="row" or scope="col" attribute on table header cells.
In most cases with simple tables, you'll use scope="col" on all header cells of the first row, and scope="row" on the first cell of the following rows:
Table alignment is achieved by using CSS.
The table alignment is controlled by margins.
A fixed margin on one side will make the table to be aligned to that side, if on the opposite side the margin is defined as auto.
To have a table center aligned, you should set both margins to auto
For example, a right-aligned table:
You type
You get
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: 0px;"
| Orange
| Apple
|-
| Bread
| Pie
|-
| Butter
| Ice cream
|}
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing
elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut
laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation
ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea
commodo consequat.
Orange
Apple
Bread
Pie
Butter
Ice cream
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing
elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut
laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation
ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea
commodo consequat.
And a center-aligned table:
You type
You get
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto;"
| Orange
| Apple
|-
| Bread
| Pie
|-
| Butter
| Ice cream
|}
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing
elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut
laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation
ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea
commodo consequat.
Orange
Apple
Bread
Pie
Butter
Ice cream
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing
elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut
laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation
ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea
commodo consequat.
Table floating around text
If you align a table to the right or the left side of the page, the text that comes after the table starts at the end of it, leaving an empty space around the table.
You can make the text to be wrapped around the table by making the table to float around the text instead of just aligning it.
This can be achieved using the float CSS attribute, which can specify whether the table floats to the right side or to the left.
When using float, margins don't control table alignment and can be used to specify the margin between the table and the surrounding text.
You type
You get
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left: 10px;"
| Orange
| Apple
|-
| Bread
| Pie
|-
| Butter
| Ice cream
|}
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing
elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut
laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation
ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea
commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor
in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat,
vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero
eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit
praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te
feugait nulla facilisi.
Orange
Apple
Bread
Pie
Butter
Ice cream
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing
elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut
laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation
ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea
commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor
in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat,
vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero
eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit
praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te
feugait nulla facilisi.
Cell contents alignment
The alignment of cell contents can be controlled with 2 different CSS properties: text-align and vertical-align.
text-align can be specified at the table, row or individual cells, while vertical-align only can be specified at individual rows or cells.
You type
You get
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| style="height:100px; width:100px; text-align:left;" | A
| style="height:100px; width:100px; text-align:center;" | B
| style="height:100px; width:100px; text-align:right;" | C
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
| style="height:100px; width:100px; text-align:left;" | D
| style="height:100px; width:100px; text-align:center;" | E
| style="height:100px; width:100px; text-align:right;" | F
|- style="vertical-align:bottom;"
| style="height:100px; width:100px; text-align:left;" | G
| style="height:100px; width:100px; text-align:center;" | H
| style="height:100px; width:100px; text-align:right;" | I
|}
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
Caveats
Negative numbers
If you start a cell on a new line with a negative number with a minus sign (or a parameter that evaluates to a negative number), your table can get broken, because the characters |- will be parsed as the wiki markup for table row, not table cell.
To avoid this, insert a space before the value (| -6) or use in-line cell markup (|| -6).
CSS vs attributes
Table borders specified through CSS rather than the border attribute will render incorrectly in a small subset of text browsers.
Common attributes for columns, column groups and row groups
The MediaWiki syntax for tables currently offers no support for specifying common attributes for columns (with the HTML element ?<col/>), column groups (HTML element ?<colgroup>?</colgroup>) and row groups (HTML elements ?<thead>?</thead>, ?<tbody>?</tbody> and ?<tfoot>?</tfoot>).
Those standard HTML elements are not accepted even in their HTML or XHTML syntax.
All the rows and cells (header or data) of the table are rendered within a single implicit row group (HTML element ?<tbody>?</tbody>) without any attributes or styles.
See Phab: T108245: "Fully support basic table editing in the visual editor".
See the list of tasks. Finished tasks are struck. It can be difficult to figure out from the technical language there what exactly has been improved, or what features have been added. Please add explanatory info below.
Can now move or delete columns and rows
Click on a column or row header.
Then click on the arrow.
From the popup menu click on "Move" or "Delete".
Insert blank row or column
From the same popup menu click on "Insert".
Copy table from web page to Visual Editor
It is possible to copy and paste a table from a web page directly into the Visual Editor (VE).
To do so safely, use a sandbox and check the table for proper coding in wikitext source mode and proper display in the Visual Editor and in preview mode.
Helping tools
Excel2Wiki allows you to copy a spreadsheet from Excel, Apache OpenOffice, LibreOffice, or Gnumeric to convert it into wikicode table.
↑
Tables can be created using either HTML table elements directly, or using wikicode formatting to define the table.
HTML table elements and their use are well described on various web pages and will not be discussed here.
The benefit of wikicode is that the table is constructed of character symbols which tend to make it easier to perceive the table structure in the article editing view compared to HTML table elements.
Table button.
A dialog opens.