UniWiki:Manual of Style/Tables

This page is a part of the UniWiki's Manual of Style. It is a general guideline intended to harmonize article style across the UniWiki, though it is best treated with common sense, and exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should be approved by the Wiki Manager. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.

This page discusses when and how tables should be used on the UniWiki. For specific considerations of table style and accessibility, see UniWiki:Manual of Style/Accessibility/Data tables tutorial. For technical guidance on how to create and edit tables, see Wikipedia:Help:Table.

Tables are a way of presenting information in rows and columns. They can be useful for a variety of content presentations on Wikipedia, but should be used only when appropriate; sometimes the information in a table may be better presented as prose paragraphs or as an embedded list.

Avoid referring to tables as being located on the left or right of a display page. Placement can be different for mobile viewers, and is meaningless to people having pages read to them by assistive software. Instead, use captions to identify tables.

Formatting

See also: Wikipedia:Help:Table

It is recommended that wikitables be used in place of HTML tables, as they are easier to customize and maintain. A standard "wikitable style" is available, by adding class="wikitable" to the top row of the table. The powerful and useful sorting feature can be enabled by adding class="sortable" to the top row. Extreme caution should be applied if rowspan or colspan is used. It is also possible to combine classes, as in class="wikitable sortable".

Captions and headers

Table captions and column and row headers should be succinct and self explanatory. In most cases, individual words or sentence fragments should be used, and thus articles (a, an, the) and sentence-ending punctuation are unnecessary. Only the first word in the caption or header should be capitalized (except for proper nouns), in keeping with Wikipedia's conventions for capital letters. In some rare cases, judicious use of soft hyphens may be helpful; see MOS:HYPHEN for details.

Much of WP:Manual of Style § Article titles, headings, and sections also pertains to table headers: Use sentence case; avoid redundantly including the subject's name in a header; do not put images in the header (including flag icons), unless this is the best way to present tabular information in a particular case; and do not use questions as headers. Title headers are often suitable places for reference citations (e.g., to source a specific row or column of data). Unlike section headings, they often begin with or consist entirely of numbers (such as model numbers, dates, version numbers, etc.). Table headers do not automatically generate link anchors the way section headings do; use the Template:Tlx template to turn a header's text (or part of it) into an anchor.

Appearance

In general, styles for tables and other block-level elements should be set using CSS classes, not with inline style attributes. This is because the site-wide CSS is more carefully tested to ensure compatibility with a wide range of browsers; it also creates a greater degree of professionalism by ensuring a consistent appearance between articles. Deviations from standard conventions are acceptable where they create a semantic distinction (for instance, the infoboxes and navigational templates relating to The Simpsons use a yellow color-scheme instead of the customary mauve, to tie in with the dominant color in the series) but should not be used gratuitously.

See WP:Deviations and Wikipedia talk:Consensus/RfC for guidance on use of coloring or non-standard formatting, and for when MoS and WikiProjects guidance is at variance.

Consideration may be given to collapsing tables which consolidate information covered in the prose.

Accessibility

Main article: Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility#Tables

Screen readers and other web browsing tools make use of specific table tags to help users navigate the data contained within tables. Use the correct wikitable pipe syntax to take advantage of all the features available.

See MOS:COLOR for information about restrained use of color in tables, to avoid creating accessibility problems for visually-impaired as well as normal vision readers.

Do not separate items by leaving blank lines between them, even when using unordered or definition lists. The Wikipedia list templates explicitly identify lists for readers, rather than relying on visual formatting to indirectly imply the presence of a list.

Size

Splitting lists and tables per summary style is advised against. Among other problems, arbitrarily splitting a wikitable effectively disables the powerful and useful sorting feature from working across the entire table.

On the other hand, overloading tables with too much detailed statistical data is against policy. Careful thought should be given to how a reader would use a table, and what level of detail is appropriate.

Suitability

Appropriate use

Tables are a way of presenting links, data, or information in rows and columns. They are a complex form of list, formatted into a systematic grid pattern. Tables might be useful for presenting mathematical data such as multiplication tables, comparative figures, or sporting results. They may also be useful for presenting equivalent words in two or more languages; for awards by type and year; complex discographies; etc.

The sortability of multiple columns in a table is a powerful tool that helps the reader to understand relationships and find patterns in large lists. The sortability of tables makes them very useful for "List of..." articles in Wikipedia, which are intended to give an overview of the subject area, and to allow easy comparisons among many similar items. Avoid cramming too much detailed information into individual table entries; if appropriate, the reader should be able to click a Wikilink to read a full, detailed article corresponding to a concise table entry.

Often a list is best left as a list. Before reformatting a list into table form, consider whether the information will be more clearly conveyed by virtue of having rows and columns. If so, then a table is probably a good choice. If there is no obvious benefit to having rows and columns, then a table is probably not the best choice.

Tables should not be misused to resolve visual layout problems. If the information you are editing is not tabular in nature, it probably does not belong in a table: Do not misuse tables for putting a caption under a photograph, arranging a group of links, or other strictly visual features. These practices make the article harder for other Wikipedians to edit, and will likely cause problems when viewed on different display sizes and aspect ratios. Also, when compared with tables, wikimarkup is more flexible, easier to use, and less arcane when used correctly for desktop publishing layout, page elements, and page orientation and positioning.

Examples:

Multi-column sortable standard

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Ref
Winner	1	1981	World Championship	Template:Flagicon Doug Mountjoy	18–12
Winner	2	1983	World Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Cliff Thorburn	18–6
Winner	3	1983	International Open	Template:Flagicon Cliff Thorburn	9–3
Winner	4	1984	Classic	Template:Flagicon Tony Meo	9–8
Winner	5	1984	World Championship (3)	Template:Flagicon Jimmy White	18–16
Winner	6	1984	International Open (2)	Template:Flagicon Tony Knowles	9–2
Winner	7	1984	UK Championship	Template:Flagicon Alex Higgins	16–8
Runner-up	1	1985	World Championship	Template:Flagicon Dennis Taylor	17–18
Winner	8	1985	Grand Prix	Template:Flagicon Dennis Taylor	10–9
Winner	9	1985	UK Championship (2)	Template:Flagicon Willie Thorne	16–14

Multi-column standard with subcolumns

Year	Title	Peak chart positions										Certifications
		CAN	AUS	AUT	GER	NLD	NOR	SWE	SWI	UK	US	North America	Europe
1993	So Far So Good Released: November 2, 1993 Label: A&M	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	6	CA: 6× Platinum US: 5× Platinum	SW: 4× Platinum UK: 3× Platinum
1999	The Best of Me Released: November 15, 1999 Label: A&M	14	18	4	7	13	2	20	3	12	—	CA: 3× Platinum	EU: 2× Platinum SW: Platinum UK: Platinum
2005	Anthology Released: October 18, 2005 Label: A&M	4	—	28	30	—	—	—	39	29	65	CA: 2× Platinum	UK: Gold
2010	Icon Released: August 31, 2010 Label: Universal	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Multi-column mixed sortable unsortable

List of acting performances in film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	Barabbas	Patrician in Arena	uncredited
1962	Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man	undetermined role	uncredited
1963	Template:Sortname	Janet Trego	TV series, 15 episodes
1963	Mister Ed	Telephone Operator Sailor's Girl	TV series, episodes: "Love Thy New Neighbor" "Ed Discovers America"
1964	Template:Sortname	Beautiful Girl	uncredited
1965	Template:Sortname	Therapist	TV series, episode: "The Girls of Nazarone Affair"
1966	Eye of the Devil	Odile de Caray
1967	Template:Sortname	Sarah Shagal
1967	Don't Make Waves	Malibu
1967	Valley of the Dolls	Jennifer North
1968	Rosemary's Baby	Girl at Party	uncredited
1968	Template:Sortname	Freya Carlson
1969	Template:Sortname (also known as 12+1)	Pat	released posthumously

Multi-column unsortable

Year	Award	Title	Result
1932	Outstanding Production	Arrowsmith	Template:Nom
1935	Outstanding Production	The Informer	Template:Nom
1935	Best Director	The Informer	Template:Won
1939	Best Director	Stagecoach	Template:Nom
1940	Outstanding Production	The Long Voyage Home	Template:Nom
1940	Best Director	The Grapes of Wrath	Template:Won
1941	Best Motion Picture	How Green Was My Valley	Template:Won
1941	Best Director	How Green Was My Valley	Template:Won
1942	Best Documentary	The Battle of Midway	Template:Won
1943	Best Documentary, Short Subjects	December 7th	Template:Won
1952	Best Motion Picture	The Quiet Man	Template:Nom
1952	Best Director	The Quiet Man	Template:Won

Multi-column unsortable all numeric right justified

Multiplication table

×	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
2	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20
3	3	6	9	12	15	18	21	24	27	30
4	4	8	12	16	20	24	28	32	36	40
5	5	10	15	20	25	30	35	40	45	50
6	6	12	18	24	30	36	42	48	54	60
7	7	14	21	28	35	42	49	56	63	70
8	8	16	24	32	40	48	56	64	72	80
9	9	18	27	36	45	54	63	72	81	90
10	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100

Gant (bar graph linear horizontal) with color

Template:Cot <timeline> ImageSize = width:700 height:270 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1965 till:12/05/1996 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors =

 id:Drums               value:purple     legend:Drums
 id:Guitars             value:green      legend:Guitars
 id:Bass                value:gray(0.40) legend:Bass
 id:Keyboards          value:orange     legend:Keyboards
 

Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom

ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:01/01/1965

LineData =

 at:08/04/1967 color:black layer:back
 at:06/28/1968 color:black layer:back
 at:06/13/1969 color:black layer:back
 at:11/07/1969 color:black layer:back
 at:10/02/1970 color:black layer:back
 at:11/05/1971 color:black layer:back
 at:06/02/1972 color:black layer:back
 at:03/23/1973 color:black layer:back
 at:11/12/1975 color:black layer:back
 at:01/21/1977 color:black layer:back
 at:11/30/1979 color:black layer:back
 at:03/21/1983 color:black layer:back
 at:11/07/1987 color:black layer:back
 at:03/28/1994 color:black layer:back

BarData =

 bar:Mason text:"Nick Mason"
 bar:Barrett text:"Syd Barrett"
 bar:Gilmour text:"David Gilmour"
 bar:Klose  text:"Bob Klose"
 bar:Waters text:"Roger Waters"
 bar:Wright text:"Richard Wright"

PlotData=

 width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Mason from:01/01/1965 till:end color:Drums
 bar:Barrett from:01/01/1965 till:06/04/1968 color:Guitars
 bar:Gilmour from:12/01/1967 till:end color:Guitars
 bar:Klose from:01/01/1965 till: 12/05/1965 color:Guitars
 bar:Waters from:01/01/1965 till:01/20/1985 color:Bass
 bar:Wright from:01/01/1965 till:01/01/1980 color:Keyboards
 bar:Wright from:01/01/1987 till:end color:Keyboards

</timeline>

Inappropriate use

Simple lists

If a list is simple, it is generally better to use one of the standard Wikipedia list formats instead of a table. Lists are easier to maintain than tables, and are often easier to read.

Here is an example of a simple list using list formatting:

* 1980: Ultra Wave
* 1988: What's Bootsy Doin'?
* 1994: Blasters of the Universe
* 1994: Fresh Outta 'P' Uni

Which produces:

• 1980: Ultra Wave
• 1988: What's Bootsy Doin'?
• 1994: Blasters of the Universe
• 1994: Fresh Outta 'P' Uni

versus table formatting:

{|
|1980
|Ultra Wave
|-
|1988
|What's Bootsy Doin'?
|-
|1994
|Blasters of the Universe
|-
|1994
|Fresh Outta 'P' Uni
|}

Which produces:

1980	Ultra Wave
1988	What's Bootsy Doin'?
1994	Blasters of the Universe
1994	Fresh Outta 'P' Uni

Prose

Prose is preferred in articles as prose allows the presentation of detail and clarification of context, in a way that a table may not. Prose flows, like one person speaking to another, and is best suited to articles, because their purpose is to explain. Tables which are mainly links, which are most useful for browsing subject areas, should usually have their own entries: see Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists for detail. In an article, significant items should normally be mentioned naturally within the text rather than merely tabulated.

Page layout

Page layouts (using multiple columns, positioning elements, adding borders, etc.) should be done via CSS, not tables, whenever possible.

• Images and other embedded media should be positioned using standard image syntax.
• There are several templates available that will create preformatted multi-column layouts: see Help:Columns.
• Other elements can be positioned or given special formatting through the use of the HTML <div> element and CSS styling.

See also

• Wikipedia:Table dos and don'ts, a summary of the key points in this guideline
• Help:Table, extensive help
• Help:Table/Introduction to tables, a quick guide to using tables
• Help:Collapsing (show/hide button)
• Wikipedia:Conditional tables
• Wikipedia:Table namespace, an inactive proposal
• Table (HTML)