Web/API/HTMLTableElement

The HTMLTableElement interface provides special properties and methods (beyond the regular HTMLElement object interface it also has available to it by inheritance) for manipulating the layout and presentation of tables in an HTML document.

  <div id="interfaceDiagram" style="display: inline-block; position: relative; width: 100%; padding-bottom: 20%; vertical-align: middle; overflow: hidden;"><svg style="display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0;" viewbox="-50 0 600 120" preserveAspectRatio="xMinYMin meet"><a xlink:href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/EventTarget" target="_top"><rect x="1" y="1" width="110" height="50" fill="#fff" stroke="#D4DDE4" stroke-width="2px" /><text  x="56" y="30" font-size="12px" font-family="Consolas,Monaco,Andale Mono,monospace" fill="#4D4E53" text-anchor="middle" alignment-baseline="middle">EventTarget</text></a><polyline points="111,25  121,20  121,30  111,25" stroke="#D4DDE4" fill="none"/><line x1="121" y1="25" x2="151" y2="25" stroke="#D4DDE4"/><a xlink:href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Node" target="_top"><rect x="151" y="1" width="75" height="50" fill="#fff" stroke="#D4DDE4" stroke-width="2px" /><text  x="188.5" y="30" font-size="12px" font-family="Consolas,Monaco,Andale Mono,monospace" fill="#4D4E53" text-anchor="middle" alignment-baseline="middle">Node</text></a><polyline points="226,25  236,20  236,30  226,25" stroke="#D4DDE4" fill="none"/><line x1="236" y1="25" x2="266" y2="25" stroke="#D4DDE4"/><a xlink:href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Element" target="_top"><rect x="266" y="1" width="75" height="50" fill="#fff" stroke="#D4DDE4" stroke-width="2px" /><text  x="303.5" y="30" font-size="12px" font-family="Consolas,Monaco,Andale Mono,monospace" fill="#4D4E53" text-anchor="middle" alignment-baseline="middle">Element</text></a><polyline points="341,25  351,20  351,30  341,25" stroke="#D4DDE4" fill="none"/><line x1="351" y1="25" x2="381" y2="25" stroke="#D4DDE4"/><a xlink:href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/HTMLElement" target="_top"><rect x="381" y="1" width="110" height="50" fill="#fff" stroke="#D4DDE4" stroke-width="2px" /><text  x="436" y="30" font-size="12px" font-family="Consolas,Monaco,Andale Mono,monospace" fill="#4D4E53" text-anchor="middle" alignment-baseline="middle">HTMLElement</text></a><polyline points="491,25  501,20  501,30  491,25" stroke="#D4DDE4" fill="none"/><line x1="501" y1="25" x2="509" y2="25" stroke="#D4DDE4"/><line x1="509" y1="25" x2="509" y2="90" stroke="#D4DDE4"/><line x1="509" y1="90" x2="492" y2="90" stroke="#D4DDE4"/><a xlink:href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/HTMLTableElement" target="_top"><rect x="331" y="65" width="160" height="50" fill="#F4F7F8" stroke="#D4DDE4" stroke-width="2px" /><text  x="411" y="94" font-size="12px" font-family="Consolas,Monaco,Andale Mono,monospace" fill="#4D4E53" text-anchor="middle" alignment-baseline="middle">HTMLTableElement</text></a></svg></div>

  a:hover text { fill: #0095DD; pointer-events: all;}

Properties

Inherits properties from its parent, HTMLElement.

HTMLTableElement.caption

Is a HTMLTableCaptionElement representing the first <caption> that is a child of the element, or null if none is found. When set, if the object doesn't represent a <caption>, a DOMException with the HierarchyRequestError name is thrown. If a correct object is given, it is inserted in the tree as the first child of this element and the first <caption> that is a child of this element is removed from the tree, if any.

HTMLTableElement.tHead

Is a HTMLTableSectionElement representing the first <thead> that is a child of the element, or null if none is found. When set, if the object doesn't represent a <thead>, a DOMException with the HierarchyRequestError name is thrown. If a correct object is given, it is inserted in the tree immediately before the first element that is neither a <caption>, nor a <colgroup>, or as the last child if there is no such element, and the first <thead> that is a child of this element is removed from the tree, if any.

HTMLTableElement.tFoot

Is a HTMLTableSectionElement representing the first <tfoot> that is a child of the element, or null if none is found. When set, if the object doesn't represent a <tfoot>, a DOMException with the HierarchyRequestError name is thrown. If a correct object is given, it is inserted in the tree immediately before the first element that is neither a <caption>, a <colgroup>, nor a <thead>, or as the last child if there is no such element, and the first <tfoot> that is a child of this element is removed from the tree, if any.

HTMLTableElement.rowsRead only

Returns a live HTMLCollection containing all the rows of the element, that is all <tr> that are a child of the element, or a child of one of its <thead>, <tbody> and <tfoot> children. The rows members of a <thead> appear first, in tree order, and those members of a <tbody> last, also in tree order. The HTMLCollection is live and is automatically updated when the HTMLTableElement changes.

HTMLTableElement.tBodiesRead only

Returns a live HTMLCollection containing all the <tbody> of the element. The HTMLCollection is live and is automatically updated when the HTMLTableElement changes.

Obsolete Properties

Warning: The following properties are obsolete.  You should avoid using them.

HTMLTableElement.align  '

Is a DOMString containing an enumerated value reflecting the align attribute. It indicates the alignment of the element's contents with respect to the surrounding context. The possible values are "left", "right", and "center".

HTMLTableElement.bgColor  '

Is a DOMString containing the background color of the cells. It reflects the obsolete bgcolor attribute.

HTMLTableElement.border  '

Is a DOMString containing the width in pixels of the border of the table. It reflects the obsolete border attribute.

HTMLTableElement.cellPadding  '

Is a DOMString containing the width in pixels of the horizontal and vertical sapce between cell content and cell borders. It reflects the obsolete cellpadding attribute.

HTMLTableElement.cellSpacing  '

Is a DOMString containing the width in pixels of the horizontal and vertical separation between cells. It reflects the obsolete cellspacing attribute.

HTMLTableElement.frame  '

Is a DOMString containing the type of the external borders of the table. It reflects the obsolete frame attribute and can take one of the following values: "void", "above", "below", "hsides", "vsides", "lhs", "rhs", "box", or "border".

HTMLTableElement.rules  '

Is a DOMString containing the type of the internal borders of the table. It reflects the obsolete rules attribute and can take one of the following values: "none", "groups", "rows", "cols", or "all".

HTMLTableElement.summary  '

Is a DOMString containing a description of the purpose or the structure of the table. It reflects the obsolete summary attribute.

HTMLTableElement.width  '

Is a DOMString containing the length in pixels or in percentage of the desired width fo the entire table. It reflects the obsolete width attribute.

Methods

Inherits methods from its parent, HTMLElement.

HTMLTableElement.createTHead()

Returns an HTMLElement representing the first <thead> that is a child of the element. If none is found, a new one is created and inserted in the tree immediately before the first element that is neither a <caption>, nor a <colgroup>, or as the last child if there is no such element.

HTMLTableElement.deleteTHead()

Removes the first <thead> that is a child of the element.

HTMLTableElement.createTFoot()

Returns an HTMLElement representing the first <tfoot> that is a child of the element. If none is found, a new one is created and inserted in the tree immediately before the first element that is neither a <caption>, a <colgroup>, nor a <thead>, or as the last child if there is no such element.

HTMLTableElement.deleteTFoot()

Removes the first <tfoot> that is a child of the element.

HTMLTableElement.createCaption()

Returns an HTMLElement representing the first <caption> that is a child of the element. If none is found, a new one is created and inserted in the tree as the first child of the <table> element.

HTMLTableElement.deleteCaption()

Removes the first <caption> that is a child of the element.

HTMLTableElement.insertRow()

Returns an HTMLTableRowElement representing a new row of the table. It inserts it in the rows collection immediately before the <tr> element at the given index position. If necessary a <tbody> is created. If the index is -1, the new row is appended to the collection. If the index is smaller than -1 or greater than the number of rows in the collection, a DOMException with the value IndexSizeError is raised.

HTMLTableElement.deleteRow()

Removes the row corresponding to the index given in parameter. If the index value is -1 the last row is removed; if it smaller than -1 or greater than the amount of rows in the collection, a DOMException with the value IndexSizeError is raised.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of 'HTMLTableElement' in that specification.	Living Standard	Added the sortable property and the stopSorting() method.
HTML5The definition of 'HTMLTableElement' in that specification.	Recommendation	Added the createTBody() method.
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 HTML SpecificationThe definition of 'HTMLTableElement' in that specification.	Obsolete	Defined when caption, tHead, tFoot, insertRow(), and deleteRow() raise exceptions.
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 SpecificationThe definition of 'HTMLTableElement' in that specification.	Obsolete	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
HTMLTableElement	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
align Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
bgColor Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
border Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
caption	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
cellPadding Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
cellSpacing Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
createCaption	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
createTBody	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 25	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support 25	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
createTFoot	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
createTHead	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
deleteCaption	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
deleteRow	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
deleteTFoot	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
deleteTHead	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
frame Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
insertRow	Chrome Full support 4	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 3 Notes' Full support 3 Notes' Notes' Starting with Firefox 20, the index argument has been made optional and defaults to -1 as per HTML specification.	IE Full support 5.5	Opera Full support 10	Safari Full support 4	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4 Notes' Full support 4 Notes' Notes' Starting with Firefox 20, the index argument has been made optional and defaults to -1 as per HTML specification.	Opera Android Full support 10.1	Safari iOS Full support 3.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
rows	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
rules Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
sortable Experimental'	Chrome No support No	Edge No support No	Firefox No support No	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari No support No	WebView Android No support No	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android No support No	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
stopSorting Experimental'	Chrome No support No	Edge No support No	Firefox No support No	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari No support No	WebView Android No support No	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android No support No	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android ?
summary Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
tBodies	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
tFoot	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
tHead	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?
width Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android ?

Legend

Full support  

Full support

No support  

No support

Compatibility unknown  

Compatibility unknown

Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.'

Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.

Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.'

Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.

See implementation notes.'

See implementation notes.

See also

• The HTML element implementing this interface: <table>.

HTMLTableElement by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.