dynamically adjust table cell width based on number of rows

My HTML structure is as follows:

<table border=1 >
    <tr> <!--this tr has one <td> that needs to be 100% width-->
        <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr> <!--this tr has two <td> that each need to be 50% width-->
        <td></td>
        <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr> <!--this tr has three <td> that each need to be 33.3333% width-->
        <td></td>
        <td></td>
        <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr> <!--this tr has one <td> that needs to be 100% width-->
        <td></td>
    </tr>
</table>

I am looking for a way to make sure that the first tr td takes up 100% width, the second tr's two tds each take up 50%, and so on... Essentially filling the td to the tr width, dividing it if there are more than one td.

http://jsfiddle.net/ujMgM/

Preferably without resorting to JavaScript...

update: NO! colspan

Answer №1

Utilizing HTML Codes

To implement a colspan in your table using HTML, simply apply the colspan attribute:

The colspan attribute specifies how many columns a cell should span. By default, it spans one column.

For example, if you have a table with 3 columns and want a cell to cover all of them, set the colspan to "3":

<table border=1 >
    <tr>
        <td colspan="3">
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td colspan="2">
        </td>
        <td>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>
        </td>
        <td>
        </td>
        <td>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td colspan="3">
        </td>
    </tr>
</table>

Using jQuery Method

If you prefer using jQuery to automatically assign the colspan attributes, follow these steps:

// Identify the tbody element within the table and specify the number of columns
var $tbody = $('table').find('tbody'),
    columns = 3;

// Iterate through each row in the table's tbody
$tbody.find('tr').each(function() {

    // Calculate the number of cells and set the colspan value
    var children = $(this).children().size(),
        colspan = columns / children;

    // If the calculated colspan is *.5, allocate higher colspan to the first cell
    if (colspan % 1 === 0.5) {
        $(this).children('td').attr('colspan', colspan - 0.5);
       $(this).children('td:first').attr('colspan', colspan + 0.5);
    }
    // Otherwise, assign equal colspan to all cells
    else
        $(this).children('td').attr('colspan', colspan);
});

View JSFiddle demonstration.

Note the usage of tbody? While recommended for better structure, most browsers will add this tag automatically if missing.

Answer №2

Try implementing colspan="0"

An alternative approach is to utilize jQuery to determine the number of td elements in each row and dynamically insert a colspan attribute.

Answer №3

To ensure the td fits all three columns, you must use colspan="3".

Understanding colspan:

The colspan attribute takes a non-negative integer value to specify how many columns the cell spans. By default, it is set to 1; if set to 0, it extends until the end of the row it belongs to, even if that row is implicitly defined. Any values above 1000 will be treated as incorrect and reset to the default value.

colspan Reference mdn

The updated code appears as follows:

<table border=1 >
    <tr>
        <td colspan="3">
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>
        </td>
        <td colspan="2">
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>
        </td>
        <td>
        </td>
        <td>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td colspan="3">
        </td>
    </tr>
</table>

Fiddle Demo

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