HTML Tags - Table Header Tag

What is HTML <th> tag ?

HTML <th> tag is used for specifying a header cell or table header within a table.

HTML <th> tag is used to set the header cell of a table.

By default browsers has render the <th> element contains in a bold font weight and center aligned.

Note : Table headings <th> can also be easily styled independently from the rest of the table contents due to this element.

What are the types of cells in HTML <table> ?

HTML table has two kinds of cells, they are

1. Header cells

Header cells contains header information (created with the <th> element)

2. Data cells

Data cells contain data (created with the <td> element)

How HTML <th> tag works ?

HTML <th> tag creates header of a group of cell in HTML table and it must be used as child elements of a parent <tr> element.

HTML <th> tag can contain text, image, form, links or any other HTML element, that can be used in the body of the HTML document.

The size of the table is automatically adjusted based on the size of its content.

Usually in HTML tables, data is arranged vertically in columns.

And If we want to display the first row of the table as labels or headings, for the content in the table’s first row we must use <th> elements instead of <td> elements.

But by default, the content of the <th> tag is bold and centered, we can change its look, you can use CSS styles.

Note : All the rows in the table have an equal number of cells, which is equivalent to the number of cells in the longest row. If there are fewer cells in a row, then the browser will automatically fill the row, placing empty cells at the end of it.

Why HTML <th> tag is used ?

HTML <th> tag is used for specifying a header cell or table header within a table.

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Syntax :

<th> Contents... </th>

Example :

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
      <title>THeader Tag</title>
</head>
        <body>
                <center>
                <h1>Welcome to CSTechbook</h1>
                <h2>th Tag</h2>
		<style>
			table, th, tr{
				width:50%;
				border:1px solid blue;
				border-collapse:collapse;
				padding:5px;
				text-align:center;
			}
		</style>
                <table>
                        <thead>
                                <tr>
                                        <th>Name</th>
                                        <th>Age</th>
                                </tr>
                        </thead>

                        <!-- tbody tag starts from here -->
                        <tbody>
                                <tr>
                                        <td>Mahatma Gandhi</td>
                                        <td>78</td>
                                </tr>
				<tr>
                                        <td>Abdul Kalaam</td>
                                        <td>83</td>
                                </tr>
				 <tr>
                                        <td>Sachin Tendulkar</td>
                                        <td>48</td>
                                </tr>
				 <tr>
                                        <td>Rahul Dravid</td>
                                        <td>47</td>
                                </tr>

                        </tbody>
                        <!-- tbody tag ends here -->
			    <!-- tfoot tag starts from here -->
                        <tfoot>
                                <tr>
                                        <td>Total Members</td>
                                        <td>4</td>
                                </tr>
                        </tfoot>
                        <!-- tfoot tag ends here -->

                </table>
                </center>
        </body>
</html>

Output :

<th> Tag Attributes

HTML <th> tag support following specific attributes as per new standards.

Sno	Attributes	Value	Description
1	abbr	text	Specifies an abbreviation (short description) for contents of header cell.
2	colspan	number	Specifies the how many columns a cell should span (merge) by the current cell.
3	headers	header_id	Specifies the list of space-separated strings that contains one or more header cells a cell related to.
4	rowspan	number	Specifies the how many rows a cell should span (merge) by the current cell.
5	scope	col colgroup row rowgroup	Specifies the header cell is a header for a column, group of columns, row, or group of rows.
6	sorted	number number reversed reversed reversed number	Specifies the sort direction of a column.

Global Attributes

HTML <th> tag support following global attributes.

Sno	Attributes	Value	Description
1	id	unique_name	Declared unique id for an element.
2	class	class_name	Declared one or more classnames for an element.
3	style	styles	CSS inline styles specify an element.
4	title	title	Specify extra details of element contain, this will display as a “tooltip” for an elements.

Event Attributes

HTML <th> tag support following event attributes.

Sno	Attributes	Value	Description
1	onfocus	script	element gets focus on object when script tobe run.
2	onblur	script	element lose the focus on object when scrip tobe run.
3	onabort	script	element gets aborted on object when script tobe run.
4	onchange	script	element gets anytime change on object when script tobe run.
5	onbeforeunload	script	element gets unloaded on object when scrip tobe run.
6	onclick	script	clicked on object when script tobe run.
7	ondblclick	script	double click on object when script tobe run.
8	onkeydown	script	key is pressed when script tobe run.
9	onkeypress	script	key is pressed over element then released when script tobe run.
10	onkeyup	script	key is released over element when script tobe run.
11	onmousedown	script	mouse button was pressed over an element when script tobe run.
12	onmouseout	script	mouse pointer release over an element when script tobe run.
13	onmousemove	script	run mouse pointer moved when script tobe run.
14	onmouseover	script	run mouse pointer move over when script tobe run.
15	onmouseup	script	mouse button is released when script tobe run.
16	onreset	script	form has been reset when script tobe run.
17	onselect	script	Select some content when script tobe run.
18	onsubmit	script	form has been submitted when script tobe run.
19	onload	script	object has load when script tobe run.
20	onchange	script	allow to change the object when script tobe run.
21	onunload	script	unload to the browser window when script tobe run.
22	ondrag	script	element being dragged when script tobe run.
23	ondragend	script	element being stop dragged when script tobe run.
24	ondragenter	script	element being go target dragged when script tobe run.
25	ondragleave	script	element being leave to target dragged when script tobe run.
26	ondragover	script	element being over to target dragged when script tobe run.
27	ondragstart	script	element being start dragged when script tobe run.
28	ondrop	script	element being dropped when script tobe run.
29	onerror	script	element error occurs when script tobe run.
30	onmessage	script	element message display when script tobe run.
31	onerror	script	element error occurs when script tobe run.
32	onmousewheel	script	mouse wheel will be rotate when script tobe run.
33	onscroll	script	scrollbar is scroll when script tobe run.
34	onresize	script	element should be resize when script tobe run.
35	onselect	script	all element content selected when script tobe run.
36	onstorage	script	element should be store in target when script tobe run.

Browser Compatibility

Sno	Browser	Support
1	Chrome	Yes
2	Firefox	Yes
3	Edge	Yes
4	Opera	Yes
5	Safari	Yes
6	Internet Explorer	Yes