Tables

These properties apply only to <table> elements and their sub-elements (caption, th, td, etc.).
They allow you to control the display, spacing, and layout of tables in CSS.

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Standard properties (to use)

Property	Description
border-collapse	Defines whether adjacent cell borders are separated (separate) or merged (collapse).
border-spacing	Defines the spacing between cell borders (only if border-collapse: separate).
caption-side	Defines the placement of the table caption (top, bottom).
empty-cells	Defines whether empty cells display their border (show) or not (hide).
table-layout	Defines how column widths are calculated: auto (default) or fixed (widths based on attributes/CSS values).

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Specific / rarely used properties

Property	Status	Explanation
speak-header	Deprecated (CSS2, accessibility)	Defined how table headers were read by screen readers. Today replaced by ARIA solutions and good HTML practices (scope, headers, etc.).

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Simple example

table {
  border-collapse: collapse; /* Merge borders */
  table-layout: fixed;       /* Fixed column widths */
  width: 100%;
}

td, th {
  border: 1px solid #333;
  padding: 8px;
}

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Key takeaways

• border-collapse and border-spacing control the appearance of cell borders.
• table-layout: fixed is useful for fast-rendering tables with consistent column widths.
• caption-side positions the caption above or below the table.
• empty-cells can hide empty cells if needed.
• speak-header is deprecated: use semantic HTML and ARIA for accessibility.