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HTML <col> Tag

Example

Set the background color of the three columns with the <colgroup> and <col> tags:

<table border="1">
  <colgroup>
    <col span="2" style="background-color:red" />
    <col style="background-color:yellow" />
  </colgroup>
  <tr>
    <th>ISBN</th>
    <th>Title</th>
    <th>Price</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>3476896</td>
    <td>My first HTML</td>
    <td>$53</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>5869207</td>
    <td>My first CSS</td>
    <td>$49</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Try it yourself »

Browser Support

Internet Explorer Firefox Opera Google Chrome Safari

The <col> tag is supported in all major browsers.

Definition and Usage

The <col> tag defines attribute values for one or more columns in a table.

The <col> tag is useful for applying styles to entire columns, instead of repeating the styles for each cell, for each row.

The <col> tag can only be used inside a <table> or a <colgroup> element.

Tips and Notes

Tip: Add the style attribute to the <col> tag, and let CSS take care of backgrounds, width and borders.

Also have a look at the <colgroup> tag.

Differences Between HTML and XHTML

In HTML the <col> tag has no end tag.

In XHTML, the <col> tag must be properly closed.

Optional Attributes

DTD indicates in which HTML 4.01/XHTML 1.0 DTD the attribute is allowed. S=Strict, T=Transitional, and F=Frameset.

Attribute Value Description DTD
align left
right
center
justify
char		 Specifies the alignment of the content related to a <col> element STF
char character Specifies the alignment of the content related to a <col> element to a character STF
charoff number Specifies the number of characters the content will be aligned from the character specified by the char attribute STF
span number Specifies the number of columns a <col> element should span STF
valign top
middle
bottom
baseline		 Specifies the vertical alignment of the content related to a <col> element STF
width %
pixels
relative_length		 Specifies the width of a <col> element STF

Standard Attributes

The <col> tag supports the following standard attributes:

Attribute Value Description DTD
class classname Specifies a classname for an element STF
dir rtl
ltr		 Specifies the text direction for the content in an element STF
id id Specifies a unique id for an element STF
lang language_code Specifies a language code for the content in an element STF
style style_definition Specifies an inline style for an element STF
title text Specifies extra information about an element STF
xml:lang language_code Specifies a language code for the content in an element, in XHTML documents STF

More information about Standard Attributes.

Event Attributes

The <col> tag supports the following event attributes:

Attribute Value Description DTD
onclick script Script to be run on a mouse click STF
ondblclick script Script to be run on a mouse double-click STF
onmousedown script Script to be run when mouse button is pressed STF
onmousemove script Script to be run when mouse pointer moves STF
onmouseout script Script to be run when mouse pointer moves out of an element STF
onmouseover script Script to be run when mouse pointer moves over an element STF
onmouseup script Script to be run when mouse button is released STF
onkeydown script Script to be run when a key is pressed STF
onkeypress script Script to be run when a key is pressed and released STF
onkeyup script Script to be run when a key is released STF

More information about Event Attributes.

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