Technique H63:Using the scope
attribute to associate header cells with data cells in data tables
About this Technique
This technique relates to 1.3.1: Info and Relationships (Sufficient when used for making information and relationships conveyed through presentation programmatically determinable).
This technique applies to HTML.
Description
The objective of this technique is to associate header cells with data cells in complex tables using the scope
attribute. The scope
attribute may be used to clarify the scope of any cell used as a header. The scope
identifies whether the cell is a header for a row, column, or group of rows or columns. The values row
, col
, rowgroup
, and colgroup
identify these possible scopes, respectively.
For simple data tables where the header is not in the first row or column, like the one in Example 1, this technique can be used.
Note
For simple tables that have the headers in the first row or column, it is sufficient to simply use the th
elements without scope
.
For complex tables use id
s and headers
as in Using id
and headers
attributes to associate data cells with header cells in data tables.
Some users may find it easier to work with several simple tables than one more complex table. Authors may wish to consider whether they can convert complex tables to one or more simple tables.
Examples
Example 1: A simple schedule
In the following example, the first column contains serial numbers for rows in the table, and the second column contains the key value for the row. The cells in the second column may then use scope="row"
. The cells in the first row too are marked up with td
and use scope="col"
.
Contact Information
Name
Phone Number
City
1.
Charlotte Smith
412-212-5421
Pittsburgh
2.
Joetta Frere
410-306-5400
Baltimore
3.
David Walls
281-511-6600
New York
Related Resources
No endorsement implied.
Tests
Procedure
For each data table:
- Check that all
th
elements have ascope
attribute. - Check that all
scope
attributes have the valuerow
,col
,rowgroup
, orcolgroup
.
Expected Results
- All checks above are true.