Can I color table columns using CSS without coloring individual cells?
HtmlCssHtml Problem Overview
Is there a way to color spans of columns all the way down. See, starting example below:
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>Motor</th>
<th colspan="3">Engine</th>
<th>Car</th>
<th colspan="2">Body</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
</table>
And I am looking for a better way (less code, non-individual coloring) to color, for example, "Engine" and "Body" spans, including all the cells underneath them in #DDD
<style>
.color {
background-color: #DDD
}
</style>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>Motor</th>
<th colspan="3" class="color">Engine</th>
<th>Car</th>
<th colspan="2" class="color">Body</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td class="color">2</td>
<td class="color">3</td>
<td class="color">4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td class="color">6</td>
<td class="color">7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td class="color">1</td>
<td class="color">2</td>
<td class="color">3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td class="color">5</td>
<td class="color">6</td>
</tr>
</table>
Html Solutions
Solution 1 - Html
Yes, you can... using the <col> element:
.grey {
background-color: rgba(128,128,128,.25);
}
.red {
background-color: rgba(255,0,0,.25);
}
.blue {
background-color: rgba(0,0,255,.25);
}
<table>
<colgroup>
<col class="grey" />
<col class="red" span="3" />
<col class="blue" />
</colgroup>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>#</th>
<th colspan="3">color 1</th>
<th>color 2</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>1</th>
<td>red</td>
<td>red</td>
<td>red</td>
<td>blue</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2</th>
<td>red</td>
<td>red</td>
<td>red</td>
<td>blue</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Note: You can use the span attribute to make the col definition apply to more than one column.
See also: <colgroup>
Solution 2 - Html
You can use the nth-child selector for that:
tr td:nth-child(2),
tr td:nth-child(3) {
background: #ccc;
}
<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">headline 1</th>
<th>headline 2</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>column 1</td>
<td>column 2</td>
<td>column 3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>column 1</td>
<td>column 2</td>
<td>column 3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>column 1</td>
<td>column 2</td>
<td>column 3</td>
</tr>
</table>
Solution 3 - Html
It is generally simplest to style cells (by column if desired), but columns can be styled, in different ways. One simple way is to wrap columns in a colgroup element and set styles on it. Example:
<style>
.x {
background-color: #DDD
}
</style>
<table border="1">
<col>
<colgroup class=x>
<col>
<col>
<col>
</colgroup>
<col>
<colgroup class=x>
<col>
<col>
</colgroup>
<tr>
<th>Motor</th>
<th colspan="3" class="color">Engine</th>
<th>Car</th>
<th colspan="2" class="color">Body</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td class="color">2</td>
<td class="color">3</td>
<td class="color">4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td class="color">6</td>
<td class="color">7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td class="color">1</td>
<td class="color">2</td>
<td class="color">3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td class="color">5</td>
<td class="color">6</td>
</tr>
</table>
Solution 4 - Html
I would use the nth-child css pseudo-class for this:
tr td:nth-child(2), tr th:nth-child(2), tr td:nth-child(3), tr td:nth-child(4), tr th:nth-child(4), tr td:nth-child(6), tr td:nth-child(7){
background-color: #DDD;
}
tr td:nth-child(2),
tr th:nth-child(2),
tr td:nth-child(3),
tr td:nth-child(4),
tr th:nth-child(4),
tr td:nth-child(6),
tr td:nth-child(7) {
background-color: #DDD;
}
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>Motor</th>
<th colspan="3">Engine</th>
<th>Car</th>
<th colspan="2">Body</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
</table>
Solution 5 - Html
The following implement's the nth-child selector and should work...
<style type="text/css">
th:nth-child(2),
th:nth-child(4)
{
background-color: rgba(255, 0, 0, 1.0);
}
td:nth-child(2),
td:nth-child(3),
td:nth-child(4),
td:nth-child(6),
td:nth-child(7)
{
background-color: rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.5);
}
</style>
Solution 6 - Html
You can use CSS3: http://jsfiddle.net/snuggles08/bm98g8v8/
<style>
.table td:nth-of-type(1) {
background: red;
}
.table td:nth-of-type(5) {
background: blue;
}
.table td:nth-of-type(3) {
background: green;
}
.table td:nth-of-type(7) {
background: lime;
}
.table td:nth-of-type(2) {
background: skyblue;
}
.table td:nth-of-type(4) {
background: darkred;
}
.table td:nth-of-type(6) {
background: navy;
}
</style>
Styled table:
<table border="1" class="table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr>Unstyled table:
<table border="1" class="table2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Solution 7 - Html
My version using nth-child expressions:
Using the CSS concept of cascade rules to first coloring the cells and then to uncolor the ones i want to be transparent. The first selector selects all the cells after the first one, and the second one selects the fifth cell to be transparent.
<style type="text/css">
/* colored */
td:nth-child(n+2) { background-color: #ddd }
/* uncolored */
td:nth-child(5) { background-color: transparent }
</style>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>Motor</th>
<th colspan="3">Engine</th>
<th>Car</th>
<th colspan="2">Body</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
</table>
Check this interesting reference: http://learn.shayhowe.com/advanced-html-css/complex-selectors/
Solution 8 - Html
This is an old question with a lot of great answers. Just wanted to add the -n and nth-last-child selectors that haven't yet been mentioned. They're helpful when applying CSS to multiple columns but may not know the number of columns prior to styling, or have multiple tables with varying widths.
/* Select the first two */
table tr td:nth-child(-n + 2) {
background-color: lightblue;
}
/* Select all but the first two */
table tr td:not(:nth-child(-n + 2)) {
background-color:lightgreen;
}
/* Select last two only */
table tr td:nth-last-child(-n + 2) {
background-color:mistyrose;
}
/* Select all but the last two */
table tr td:not(:nth-last-child(-n + 2)) {
background-color:yellow;
}
jsFiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/3rpf5oht/2/