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Tables may be authored in wiki pages using either XHTML table elements directly, or using wikicode formatting to define the table. XHTML table elements and their use are well described on various web pages and will not be discussed here. The benefit of wikicode is that the table is constructed of character symbols which tend to make it easier to perceive the table structure in the article editing view compared to XHTML table elements.
As a general rule, it is best to avoid using a table unless you need one. Table markup often complicates page editing.
table caption,optional; only between table start and first table row
|-
table row,optional on first row -- wiki engine assumes the first row
!
table header cell, optional. Consecutive table header cells may be added on same line separated by double marks (!!) or start on new lines, each with its own single mark (!).
|
table data cell, required! Consecutive table data cells may be added on same line separated by double marks (||) or start on new lines, each with its own single mark (|).
|}
table end
The above marks must start on a new line except the double || and !! for optionally adding consecutive cells to a line. However, blank spaces at the beginning of a line are ignored.
XHTML attributes. Each mark, except table end, optionally accepts one or more XHTML attributes. Attributes must be on the same line as the mark. Separate attributes from each other with a single space.
Cells and caption (| or ||, ! or !!, and |+) hold content. So separate any attributes from content with a single pipe (|). Cell content may follow on same line or on following lines.
Table and row marks ({| and |-) do not directly hold content. Do not add pipe (|) after their optional attributes. If you erroneously add a pipe after attributes for the table mark or row mark the parser will delete it and your final attribute if it was touching the erroneous pipe!
Content may (a) follow its cell mark on the same line after any optional XHTML attributes or (b) on lines below the cell mark. Content that uses wiki markup that itself needs to start on a new line, such as lists, headings, or nested tables, must be on its own new line.
Escaping to insert a pipe (|) character into a table use the <nowiki> markup
Basics
The following table lacks borders and good spacing but shows the simplest wiki markup table structure.
You can also use cell attributes when you are listing multiple cells on a single line. Note that the cells are separated by ||, and within each cell the attribute(s) and value are separated by |.
If you start a cell on a new line with a negative number with a minus sign (or a parameter that evaluates to a negative number), your table can get broken, because the characters |- will be parsed as the wiki markup for table row, not table cell. To avoid this, insert a space before the value (| -6) or use in-line cell markup (|| -6).
CSS vs Attributes
Table borders specified through CSS rather than the border attribute will render incorrectly in a small subset of text browsers.