HTML Tags - Table Head Tag

What is HTML <thead> tag ?

HTML <thead> tag is used to add a header to a table that containing header information of the table.

HTML <thead> is used in conjunction with the <tfoot> and <tbody> elements that specifies table footer, table body respectively.

Note : HTML <thead>, <tbody>, and <tfoot> elements will not affect the layout of the table by default. However, you can use CSS to style these elements (see example below)!

Note : HTML <tfoot> tag must be placed before <tbody>, so that the browser can render the table footer correctly.

HTML <thead>, <tbody>, and <tfoot> elements do not affect the table layout by default.

We can use CSS properties to customize the look of the table.

How HTML <thead> tag works ?

HTML <thead> element defines a set of rows defining the head of the columns of the table.

HTML <thead> tag must be child of <table> element, and it must be used before any <tbody>, <tr>, or <tfoot> elements.

Browsers can use this <thead> information to enable scrolling of the table body independently of the header and footer(when we use for large tables).

Note: HTML <thead> element must have one or more <tr> tags inside.

Why HTML <thead> tag is used ?

HTML <thead> tag is used along with <tbody> and <tfoot> tags, that specify the body and footer of the table, respectively.

Note : HTML <thead> tag must be used in the following context:

As a child of a <table> element, after any <caption>, and <colgroup> elements, and before any <tbody>, <tfoot>, and <tr> elements.

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Syntax :

<thead>
// Table head Contents...
</thead>

Example :

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Table Head Tag</title>
</head>
        <body>
                <center>
                <h1>Welcome to CSTechbook</h1>
                <h2>thead 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 :

<thead> Tag Attributes

HTML <thead> tag support following specific attributes.

All following attributes has been removed in HTML5.

Sno	Attributes	Value	Description
1	align	left right center justify char	Deprecated. Specifies the alignment of the `<tfoot>` element contents.
2	char	character	Deprecated. Specifies the alignment of the specific character. This attribute used only with when align=”char”.
3	charoff	pixels %	Deprecated. Specifies the number of characters to offset the `<tfoot>` content from the character designated by the char attribute.
4	valign	top middle bottom baseline	Deprecated. Specifies the vertical aligns of the contents inside the `<tfoot>` element.

Global Attributes

HTML <thead> 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 <thead> 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