COLGROUP Element | colGroup Object

Specifies property defaults for a column or group of columns in a table.

Members Table

Attribute	Property	Description
ALIGN	align	Sets or retrieves the alignment of the object relative to the display or table.
ATOMICSELECTION		Specifies whether the element and its contents must be selected as a whole, indivisible unit.
BGCOLOR		Sets the background color behind the object.
	canHaveChildren	Retrieves a value indicating whether the object can contain children.
	canHaveHTML	Sets or retrieves the value indicating whether the object can contain rich HTML markup.
CLASS	className	Sets or retrieves the class of the object.
	clientHeight	Retrieves the height of the object including padding, but not including margin, border, or scroll bar.
	clientLeft	Retrieves the distance between the offsetLeft property and the true left side of the client area.
	clientTop	Retrieves the distance between the offsetTop property and the true top of the client area.
	clientWidth	Retrieves the width of the object including padding, but not including margin, border, or scroll bar.
DIR	dir	Sets or retrieves the reading order of the object.
	firstChild	Retrieves a reference to the first child in the childNodes collection of the object.
ID	id	Retrieves the string identifying the object.
	innerHTML	Retrieves the HTML between the start and end tags of the object.
	isContentEditable	Retrieves the value indicating whether the user can edit the contents of the object.
	isDisabled	Retrieves the value indicating whether the user can interact with the object.
	isMultiLine	Retrieves the value indicating whether the content of the object contains one or more lines.
	isTextEdit	Retrieves whether a TextRange object can be created using the object.
LANG	lang	Sets or retrieves the language to use.
	lastChild	Retrieves a reference to the last child in the childNodes collection of an object.
	nextSibling	Retrieves a reference to the next child of the parent for the object.
	nodeName	Retrieves the name of a particular type of node.
	nodeType	Retrieves the type of the requested node.
	nodeValue	Sets or retrieves the value of a node.
	offsetHeight	Retrieves the height of the object relative to the layout or coordinate parent, as specified by the offsetParent property.
	offsetLeft	Retrieves the calculated left position of the object relative to the layout or coordinate parent, as specified by the offsetParent property.
	offsetParent	Retrieves a reference to the container object that defines the offsetTop and offsetLeft properties of the object.
	offsetTop	Retrieves the calculated top position of the object relative to the layout or coordinate parent, as specified by the offsetParent property.
	offsetWidth	Retrieves the width of the object relative to the layout or coordinate parent, as specified by the offsetParent property.
	onOffBehavior	Retrieves an object indicating whether the specified Microsoft DirectAnimation behavior is running.
	outerHTML	Sets or retrieves the object and its content in HTML.
	ownerDocument	Sets or retrieves the document object associated with the node.
	parentElement	Retrieves the parent object in the object hierarchy.
	parentNode	Retrieves the parent object in the document hierarchy.
	parentTextEdit	Retrieves the container object in the document hierarchy that can be used to create a TextRange containing the original object.
	previousSibling	Retrieves a reference to the previous child of the parent for the object.
	readyState	Retrieves the current state of the object.
	scopeName	Retrieves the namespace defined for the element.
	scrollHeight	Retrieves the scrolling height of the object.
	scrollLeft	Sets or retrieves the distance between the left edge of the object and the leftmost portion of the content currently visible in the window.
	scrollTop	Sets or retrieves the distance between the top of the object and the topmost portion of the content currently visible in the window.
	scrollWidth	Retrieves the scrolling width of the object.
	sourceIndex	Retrieves the ordinal position of the object, in source order, as the object appears in the document's all collection.
SPAN	span	Sets or retrieves the number of columns in the group.
STYLE		Sets an inline style for the element.
	tagName	Retrieves the tag name of the object.
	tagUrn	Sets or retrieves the Uniform Resource Name (URN) specified in the namespace declaration.
	uniqueID	Retrieves an autogenerated, unique identifier for the object.
VALIGN	vAlign	Sets or retrieves how text and other content are vertically aligned within the object that contains them.
WIDTH	width	Sets or retrieves the width of the object.

Behavior	Description
clientCaps	Provides information about features supported by Internet Explorer, as well as a way for installing browser components on demand.
download	Downloads a file and notifies a specified callback function when the download is complete.
homePage	Contains information about a user's homepage.

Collection	Description
all	Returns a reference to the collection of elements contained by the object.
attributes	Retrieves a collection of attributes of the object.
behaviorUrns	Returns a collection of Uniform Resource Name (URN) strings identifying the behaviors attached to the element.
childNodes	Retrieves a collection of HTML Elements and TextNode objects that are direct descendants of the specified object.
children	Retrieves a collection of DHTML Objects that are direct descendants of the object.

Event	Description
onreadystatechange	Fires when the state of the object has changed.

Method	Description
addBehavior	Attaches a behavior to the element.
appendChild	Appends an element as a child to the object.
applyElement	Makes the element either a child or parent of another element.
attachEvent	Binds the specified function to an event, so that the function gets called whenever the event fires on the object.
clearAttributes	Removes all attributes and values from the object.
cloneNode	Copies a reference to the object from the document hierarchy.
componentFromPoint	Returns the component located at the specified coordinates via certain events.
contains	Checks whether the given element is contained within the object.
detachEvent	Unbinds the specified function from the event, so that the function stops receiving notifications when the event fires.
fireEvent	Fires a specified event on the object.
getAdjacentText	Returns the adjacent text string.
getAttribute	Retrieves the value of the specified attribute.
getAttributeNode	Retrieves an attribute object�referenced by the attribute.name�property.
getBoundingClientRect	Retrieves an object that specifies the bounds of a collection of TextRectangle objects.
getClientRects	Retrieves a collection of rectangles that describes the layout of the contents of an object or range within the client. Each rectangle describes a single line.
getElementsByTagName	Retrieves a collection of objects based on the specified element name.
getExpression	Retrieves the expression for the given property.
hasChildNodes	Returns a value that indicates whether the object has children.
insertAdjacentElement	Inserts an element at the specified location.
insertBefore	Inserts an element into the document hierarchy as a child node of a parent object.
mergeAttributes	Copies all read/write attributes to the specified element.
normalize	Merges adjacent TextNode objects to produce a normalized document object model.
removeAttribute	Removes the given attribute from the object.
removeAttributeNode	Removes an attribute object�from the object.
removeBehavior	Detaches a behavior from the element.
removeChild	Removes a child node from the object.
removeExpression	Removes the expression from the specified property.
removeNode	Removes the object from the document hierarchy.
replaceAdjacentText	Replaces the text adjacent to the element.
replaceChild	Replaces an existing child element with a new child element.
replaceNode	Replaces the object with another element.
scrollIntoView	Causes the object to scroll into view, aligning it either at the top or bottom of the window.
setAttribute	Sets the value of the specified attribute.
setAttributeNode	Sets an attribute object�node as part of the object.
setExpression	Sets an expression for the specified object.
swapNode	Exchanges the location of two objects in the document hierarchy.

Object	Description
currentStyle	Represents the cascaded format and style of the object as specified by global style sheets, inline styles, and HTML attributes.
runtimeStyle	Represents the cascaded format and style of the object that overrides the format and style specified in global style sheets, inline styles, and HTML attributes.
style	Represents the current settings of all possible inline styles for a given element.

Style attribute	Style property	Description
background	background	Sets or retrieves up to five separate background properties of the object.
background-attachment	backgroundAttachment	Sets or retrieves how the background image is attached to the object within the document.
background-color	backgroundColor	Sets or retrieves the color behind the content of the object.
background-image	backgroundImage	Sets or retrieves the background image of the object.
background-position	backgroundPosition	Sets or retrieves the position of the background of the object.
background-position-x	backgroundPositionX	Sets or retrieves the x-coordinate of the backgroundPosition property.
background-position-y	backgroundPositionY	Sets or retrieves the y-coordinate of the backgroundPosition property.
background-repeat	backgroundRepeat	Sets or retrieves how the backgroundImage property of the object is tiled.
behavior	behavior	Sets or retrieves the location of the Introduction to DHTML Behaviors.
clear	clear	Sets or retrieves whether the object allows floating objects on its left side, right side, or both, so that the next text displays past the floating objects.
color	color	Sets or retrieves the color of the text of the object.
cursor	cursor	Sets or retrieves the type of cursor to display as the mouse pointer moves over the object.
direction	direction	Sets or retrieves the reading order of the object.
display	display	Sets or retrieves whether the object is rendered.
font	font	Sets or retrieves a combination of separate font properties of the object. Alternatively, sets or retrieves one or more of six user-preference fonts.
font-family	fontFamily	Sets or retrieves the name of the font used for text in the object.
font-size	fontSize	Sets or retrieves a value that indicates the font size used for text in the object.
font-style	fontStyle	Sets or retrieves the font style of the object as italic, normal, or oblique.
font-variant	fontVariant	Sets or retrieves whether the text of the object is in small capital letters.
font-weight	fontWeight	Sets or retrieves the weight of the font of the object.
layout-grid	layoutGrid	Sets or retrieves the composite document grid properties that specify the layout of text characters.
layout-grid-mode	layoutGridMode	Sets or retrieves whether the text layout grid uses two dimensions.
letter-spacing	letterSpacing	Sets or retrieves the amount of additional space between letters in the object.
line-height	lineHeight	Sets or retrieves the distance between lines in the object.
overflow	overflow	Sets or retrieves a value indicating how to manage the content of the object when the content exceeds the height or width of the object.
padding	padding	Sets or retrieves the amount of space to insert between the object and its margin or, if there is a border, between the object and its border.
padding-bottom	paddingBottom	Sets or retrieves the amount of space to insert between the bottom border of the object and the content.
padding-left	paddingLeft	Sets or retrieves the amount of space to insert between the left border of the object and the content.
padding-right	paddingRight	Sets or retrieves the amount of space to insert between the right border of the object and the content.
padding-top	paddingTop	Sets or retrieves the amount of space to insert between the top border of the object and the content.
	pixelBottom	Sets or retrieves the bottom position of the object.
	pixelHeight	Sets or retrieves the height of the object.
	pixelLeft	Sets or retrieves the left position of the object.
	pixelRight	Sets or retrieves the right position of the object.
	pixelTop	Sets or retrieves the top position of the object.
	pixelWidth	Sets or retrieves the width of the object.
	posBottom	Sets or retrieves the bottom position of the object in the units specified by the bottom attribute.
	posHeight	Sets or retrieves the height of the object in the units specified by the height attribute.
	posLeft	Sets or retrieves the left position of the object in the units specified by the left attribute.
	posRight	Sets or retrieves the right position of the object in the units specified by the right attribute.
	posTop	Sets or retrieves the top position of the object in the units specified by the top attribute.
	posWidth	Sets or retrieves the width of the object in the units specified by the width attribute.
text-autospace	textAutospace	Sets or retrieves the autospacing and narrow space width adjustment of text.
text-decoration	textDecoration	Sets or retrieves a value that indicates whether the text in the object has blink, line-through, overline, or underline decorations.
	textDecorationBlink	Sets or retrieves a Boolean value that indicates whether the object's textDecoration property has a value of "blink."
	textDecorationLineThrough	Sets or retrieves a Boolean value indicating whether the text in the object has a line drawn through it.
	textDecorationNone	Sets or retrieves the Boolean value indicating whether the textDecoration property for the object has been set to none.
	textDecorationOverline	Sets or retrieves a Boolean value indicating whether the text in the object has a line drawn over it.
	textDecorationUnderline	Sets or retrieves whether the text in the object is underlined.
text-transform	textTransform	Sets or retrieves the rendering of the text in the object.
text-underline-position	textUnderlinePosition	Sets or retrieves the position of the underline decoration that is set through the textDecoration property of the object.
unicode-bidi	unicodeBidi	Sets or retrieves the level of embedding with respect to the bidirectional algorithm.
visibility	visibility	Sets or retrieves whether the content of the object is displayed.
word-spacing	wordSpacing	Sets or retrieves the amount of additional space between words in the object.
z-index	zIndex	Sets or retrieves the stacking order of positioned objects.
zoom	zoom	Sets or retrieves the magnification scale of the object.

Remarks

Nested COL elements override COLGROUP elements.

Use the SPAN attribute to specify the number of table columns that the COLGROUP defines. This attribute has a default value equal to one.

COL elements can occur outside of a COLGROUP element, and these two elements can be used for similar purposes. However, you must use the COLGROUP element to determine where table internal dividing lines (rules) should go. This is illustrated in the first example below.

You should avoid using the SPAN attribute inside the COLGROUP element if there are COL elements nested within it. This is because the SPAN attribute that belongs to the nested COL elements will override the attribute that belongs to the COLGROUP element. This can cause confusing code and possibly unintended results. This behavior is illustrated in the second example below.

The table object and its associated elements have a separate table object model, which uses different methods than the general object model. For more information on the table object model.

This element is available in HTML as of Internet Explorer 3.0, and in script as of Internet Explorer 4.0.

This element is a block element.

This element requires a closing tag.

Examples

This example uses the COLGROUP element to assign specific characteristics to two groups of columns in a table.

<HTML>
<BODY>
<TABLE BORDER="2" RULES="groups">
<!-- RULES is set to "groups", which places internal dividing lines around
table columns defined by COLGROUP. -->
    <COLGROUP SPAN="2" STYLE="color:red">
    </COLGROUP>
    <COLGROUP STYLE="color:blue">
    </COLGROUP>
    <TR>
        <TD>This column is in the first group.</TD>
        <TD>This column is in the first group.</TD>
        <TD>This column is in the second group.</TD>
    </TR>
    <TR>
        <TD>This column is in the first group.</TD>
        <TD>This column is in the first group.</TD>
        <TD>This column is in the second group.</TD>
    </TR>
</TABLE>
</BODY>
</HTML>

When COL elements are nested inside a COLGROUP element, the attributes of the COL elements override the attributes of the COLGROUP element. This is demonstrated in the following example.

<HTML>
<BODY>
<TABLE BORDER="2">
    <COLGROUP SPAN="3" STYLE="color:green;background:black">
    <!-- Styling is applied to only the first two columns, instead of all
    three, and the font color is red instead of green. This is consistant
    with the attributes of the COL element. -->
    <COL SPAN="2" STYLE="color:red">
    </COLGROUP>
    <TR>
        <TD>This column is in the first group.</TD>
        <TD>This column is in the first group.</TD>
        <TD>This column is in the second group.</TD>
    </TR>
    <TR>
        <TD>This column is in the first group.</TD>
        <TD>This column is in the first group.</TD>
        <TD>This column is in the second group.</TD>
    </TR>
</TABLE>
</BODY>
</HTML>

Standards Information

This object is defined in HTML 4.0 .

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COLGROUP Element | colGroup Object