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HTML <col> Tag

The <col> tag sets the properties for the columns of the table. Description of the tag, attributes and usage examples.

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. Note: <col> elements only affect columns within the first <colgroup> or the implicit first group.

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 self-closed (<col />). In modern HTML5, the closing slash is omitted (<col>).

Example of the HTML <col> tag:

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>
Try it Yourself »

Result

col example

Attributes

AttributeValueDescription
alignleft, right, center, justify, charSets the alignment of the content of the column. Not supported in HTML5.
charcharacterAligns the content related to a <col> element to a character. It is used only if the attribute is align="char". Not supported in HTML5.
charoffnumberShifts 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.
spannumberSets 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.
valigntop, middle, bottom, baselineAligns the content vertically. Not supported in HTML5.
width%, pixels, relative_lengthSets the width of the column. Not supported in HTML5.

The <col> tag also supports the Global Attributes and the Event Attributes.

Practice

Practice

What does the HTML <col> tag do in an HTML document?