Code to select the first row in a table using CSS styling

Question

Code to select the first row in a table using CSS styling

I'm looking for a CSS selector to target the first <tr> in a <table>.

After searching online, I found some selectors like tr:first-child and

table *:first-child tr:first-child, table tr:first-child

. Unfortunately, these do not work in my specific case...

Here is some sample HTML code that needs to be addressed:

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr><th>you should select this row</th></tr>
    <tr><th>not this one</th></tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>not this one</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>


<table>
  <colgroup>
    <col></col>
  </colgroup>
  <thead>
    <tr><th>you should select this row</th></tr>
    <tr><th>not this one</th></tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>not this line</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>


<table>
  <colgroup>
    <col></col>
  </colgroup>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>you should choose this row</td></tr>
    <tr><th>not this one</th></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

(Looking for a solution without relying on JavaScript)

html css css-selectors html-table

Answer 1

Answer №1

Without adding specific classes to differentiate different cases, there is no selector that will work for you.

thead tr:first-child may be effective for the first two examples, but it will not succeed in the third instance.

UPDATE: Another approach you could consider is:

thead tr:first-child,
tbody tr:first-child {
    /* your css styles */
}

thead + tbody tr:first-child {
    /* reset css from previous selector */
}

However, I would recommend avoiding this if possible.

Answer 2

Without adding specific classes to differentiate different cases, there is no selector that will work for you.

thead tr:first-child may be effective for the first two examples, but it will not succeed in the third instance.

UPDATE: Another approach you could consider is:

thead tr:first-child,
tbody tr:first-child {
    /* your css styles */
}

thead + tbody tr:first-child {
    /* reset css from previous selector */
}

However, I would recommend avoiding this if possible.

Answer 3

Answer №2

In the event that the initial row group within your table is classified as either a thead or a tbody, and under the assumption that the sole children of your table will consist of colgroup, thead, and tbody:

thead:first-child > tr:first-child,
tbody:first-child > tr:first-child,
colgroup + thead > tr:first-child,
colgroup + tbody > tr:first-child

(If by chance the first row group might be a tfoot instead, include the appropriate selectors in the list. Regardless, it is imperative to have all of them for complete coverage.)

Answer 4

In the event that the initial row group within your table is classified as either a thead or a tbody, and under the assumption that the sole children of your table will consist of colgroup, thead, and tbody:

thead:first-child > tr:first-child,
tbody:first-child > tr:first-child,
colgroup + thead > tr:first-child,
colgroup + tbody > tr:first-child

(If by chance the first row group might be a tfoot instead, include the appropriate selectors in the list. Regardless, it is imperative to have all of them for complete coverage.)

Answer 5

Answer №3

table tr:first-of-type

works as expected. The :first-child selector can sometimes be misunderstood. It doesn't pay much attention to the element before the ":", it simply looks at "what is the first child of that element?". If it happens to be the same as before the ":", then everything is fine. But if not, like in your case, nothing will happen. So, in most cases, it is more useful to write something like

table > :first-child

This approach may not solve your issue here, but it's generally the best way to use :first-child (or *-child in general) in my opinion. If you're looking to target the first appearance of an element, :first-type is the way to go.

Update: I noticed a point made in another question: If you don't want the rows of the thead, then you need to use tbody as the parent element, of course.

tbody tr:first-of-type

or

tbody > :first-child

Answer 6

table tr:first-of-type

works as expected. The :first-child selector can sometimes be misunderstood. It doesn't pay much attention to the element before the ":", it simply looks at "what is the first child of that element?". If it happens to be the same as before the ":", then everything is fine. But if not, like in your case, nothing will happen. So, in most cases, it is more useful to write something like

table > :first-child

This approach may not solve your issue here, but it's generally the best way to use :first-child (or *-child in general) in my opinion. If you're looking to target the first appearance of an element, :first-type is the way to go.

Update: I noticed a point made in another question: If you don't want the rows of the thead, then you need to use tbody as the parent element, of course.

tbody tr:first-of-type

or

tbody > :first-child

Code to select the first row in a table using CSS styling

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

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