HTMLisEasy.com
HTML tutorials for the rest of us...
Table Tutor -

Do it with a Table!









(YES, THIS TABLE IS A TABLE!)

Table tags are by far the most useful tags you will find. When it comes to page layout you can achive just about anything using these tags. Following are few examples and ideas for you. Some you might find useful, some are just showing off. But all will show some of the versatility of the <table> tags.

THE BILL OF RIGHTS
Passed by Congress September 25, 1789.
Ratified December 15, 1791.


 
AMENDMENT I  
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
 
AMENDMENT II  
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
 
AMENDMENT III  
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
 

I feel guilty cutting this document short so I figure if I provide a link to the U.S. Constitution in it's entirety, I have made up for the wrong.

 

Here's a simple chessboard. Not super useful, but making one is great practice!


 

Another (less colorful) example using the Bill of Rights again.

The Bill of Rights
Passed by Congress September 25, 1789.
Ratified December 15, 1791.
 
AMENDMENT
I
   Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
AMENDMENT
II
   A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
AMENDMENT
III
   No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

 

You can make bar graphs with just table tags and a few colored 1x1 dots. It's not all that hard and once it's done, it's easy to change. Plus it can do things a regular image can't. Like suppose you needed to change it a lot. Or what if you made it part of results generated by a CGI, Java, or JavaScript program. This technique lends itself very well to "on-the-fly" graphing.

  Joe's Widget Mfg. Co., Inc.
Unit production January-June
 
  RED WIDGETS    BLUE WIDGETS    TUNE-UP KITS
 UNITS 
in
 thousands 
150

100

50

0







  JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN

 

This is a nice effect. It's kind of a pain to do initially, but updates are easy if you're neat & organized with your HTML coding.

Punch Gran Cru Honduras
Cigar Length Ring WrapperBox ofPriceSingle
Britania 6.25 50 natural 25 96.75 4.55
Diademas 7.25 54 natural 25 102.50 4.80
Monarcas 6.75 48 natural 10 57.00 6.40
Prince Consort 8.5 52 natural 10 48.00 5.65
Robusto 5.25 50 maduro 20 75.00 4.40
Robusto 5.25 50 natural 20 75.00 4.40
Superior 5.5 48 natural 25 86.50 4.05

 

Here's nearly the same effect yet a MUCH simpler table to construct...

Punch Gran Cru Honduras
 Cigar          Length    Ring     Wrapper    Box of    Price    Single 
 Britania        6.25      50      Natural      25      96.75     4.55  
 Diademas        7.25      54      Natural      25     102.50     4.80  
 Monarcas        6.75      48      Natural      10      57.00     6.40  
 Prince Consort  8.5       52      Natural      10      48.00     5.65  
 Robusto         5.25      50      Maduro       20      75.00     4.40  
 Robusto         5.25      50      Natural      20      75.00     4.40  
 Superior        5.5       48      Natural      25      86.50     4.05  

 

Here is a picture framing technique using tables...

More examples here.


 

This last example is a simple button bar...

 

Table Tutor
Lessons: Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Tables Quick Reference
HTML 4.0 Reference      Barebones HTML Guide