table-layout CSS property

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

The table-layout CSS property sets the algorithm used to lay out <table> cells, rows, and columns.

Try it

table-layout: auto;
width: 150px;

table-layout: fixed;
width: 150px;

table-layout: auto;
width: 100%;

table-layout: fixed;
width: 100%;

<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
  <table class="transition-all" id="example-element">
    <tbody>
      <tr>
        <th>Name</th>
        <th>Location</th>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Lion</td>
        <td>Africa</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Norwegian Lemming</td>
        <td>Europe</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Seal</td>
        <td>Antarctica</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Tiger</td>
        <td>Asia</td>
      </tr>
    </tbody>
  </table>
</section>

table {
  border: 1px solid #113399;
}

th,
td {
  border: 2px solid #aa1199;
  padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem;
}

Syntax

css
/* Keyword values */
table-layout: auto;
table-layout: fixed;

/* Global values */
table-layout: inherit;
table-layout: initial;
table-layout: revert;
table-layout: revert-layer;
table-layout: unset;

Values

auto

The automatic table layout algorithm is used. The widths of the table and its cells are adjusted to fit the content. Most browsers use this algorithm by default.

fixed

The fixed table layout algorithm is used. When using this keyword, the table's width needs to be specified explicitly using the width property. If the value of the width property is set to auto or is not specified, the browser uses the automatic table layout algorithm, in which case the fixed value has no effect.
The fixed table layout algorithm is faster than the automatic layout algorithm because the horizontal layout of the table depends only on the table's width, the width of the columns, and borders or cell spacing. The horizontal layout doesn't depend on the contents of the cells because it depends only on explicitly set widths.

In the fixed table layout algorithm, the width of each column is determined as follows:

A column element with explicit width sets the width for that column.
Otherwise, a cell in the first row with explicit width determines the width for that column.
Otherwise, the column gets the width from the shared remaining horizontal space.

With this algorithm the entire table can be rendered once the first table row has been downloaded and analyzed. This can speed up rendering time over the "automatic" layout method, but subsequent cell content might not fit in the column widths provided. Cells use the overflow property to determine whether to clip any overflowing content, but only if the table has a known width; otherwise, they won't overflow the cells.

Formal definition

Initial valueApplies toInherited Computed value Animation type

auto

table and inline-table elements

as specified

discrete

Formal syntax

table-layout =
auto |
fixed
This syntax reflects the latest standard as per CSS Table Module Level 3. Not all browsers may have implemented every part. See Browser compatibility for support information.

Examples

Fixed-width tables with text-overflow

This example uses a fixed table layout, combined with the width property, to restrict the table's width. The text-overflow property is used to apply an ellipsis to words that are too long to fit. If the table layout were auto, the table would grow to accommodate its contents, despite the specified width.

HTML

html
<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Ed</td>
      <td>Wood</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Albert</td>
      <td>Schweitzer</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Jane</td>
      <td>Fonda</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>William</td>
      <td>Shakespeare</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

CSS

css
table {
  table-layout: fixed;
  width: 120px;
  border: 1px solid red;
}

td {
  border: 1px solid blue;
  overflow: hidden;
  white-space: nowrap;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
}