HTML <col> Tag

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The <col> tag defines the properties of one or more columns in the HTML table defined by the <table> tag. The <col> tag is often used with the <colgroup> tag which specifies a group with common properties.

The <col> tag is placed inside the <table> tag, before the <thead>, <tbody>, <tfoot> and <tr> tags, and after the <caption> tag if it is used (in the <caption> tag we insert the name of the table).

Syntax

The <col> tag is empty, which means that the closing tag isn’t required. But in XHTML, the (<col>) tag must be closed (<col/>).

Example of the HTML <col> tag:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      table, th, td {
        border: 1px solid #666;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <table>
      <colgroup>
        <col span="2" style="width:20%; background-color:#eee;">
        <col style="width:10%; background-color:#8ebf42;">
      </colgroup>
      <tr>
        <th>Name</th>
        <th>Gender</th>
        <th>Age</th>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Mary Nicolson</td>
        <td>female</td>
        <td>19</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>John Johnson</td>
        <td>male</td>
        <td>23</td>
      </tr>
    </table>
  </body>
</html>

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Result

Attributes

Attribute	Value	Description
align		Sets the alignment of the content of the column. Not supported in HTML5.
	left	Aligns to the left.
	right	Aligns to the right.
	center	Aligns to the center.
	justify	Stretches the lines so that each line has equal width.
	char	Aligns a special character with a minimum offset, which is defined by the char and charoff attributes.
char	character	Aligns the content related to a <col> element to a character. It is used only if the attribute is align = "char". Not supported in HTML5.
charoff	number	Shifts the content of the cell relative to the character specified as the value of the attribute to the right (positive values) or to the left (negative values). It is used only if the attribute is align = "char". Not supported in HTML5.
span	number	Sets the quantity of columns, the properties of which are determined by the <col> element. The number must be a positive integer. If the parameter is not specified, the default value is 1.
valign		Aligns the content vertically.
	top	Aligns at the top of the line.
	bottom	Aligns the bottom edge.
	middle	Aligns in the middle.
	baseline	Aligns the baseline. Not supported in HTML5.
width	% pixels relative_length	Sets the width of the column. Not supported in HTML5.