colgroup element | colGroup object (Internet Explorer)

colgroup element | colGroup object

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

HTML information

Closing Tag	required
CSS Display	block

DOM Information

Inheritance Hierarchy

Node

Element

HTMLElement

colGroup

Members

The colGroup object has these types of members:

Events
Methods
Properties

Events

The colGroup object has these events.

Event	Description
abort	Fires when the user aborts the download.
afterupdate	Fires on a databound object after successfully updating the associated data in the data source object.
beforecopy	Fires on the source object before the selection is copied to the system clipboard.
beforeupdate	Fires on a databound object before updating the associated data in the data source object.
cellchange	Fires when data changes in the data provider.
change	Fires when the contents of the object or selection have changed.
dataavailable	Fires periodically as data arrives from data source objects that asynchronously transmit their data.
datasetchanged	Fires when the data set exposed by a data source object changes.
error	Fires when an error occurs during object loading.
errorupdate	Fires on a databound object when an error occurs while updating the associated data in the data source object.
filterchange	Fires when a visual filter changes state or completes a transition.
input	Occurs when the text content of an element is changed through the user interface.
layoutcomplete	Fires when the print or print preview layout process finishes filling the current LayoutRect object with content from the source document.
load	Fires immediately after the client loads the object.
ondatasetcomplete	Fires to indicate that all data is available from the data source object.
onselect	Fires when the current selection changes.
readystatechange	Fires when the state of the object has changed.
reset	Fires when the user resets a form.
resize	Fires when the size of the object is about to change.
rowenter	Fires to indicate that the current row has changed in the data source and new data values are available on the object.
rowexit	Fires just before the data source control changes the current row in the object.
rowsdelete	Fires when rows are about to be deleted from the recordset.
rowsinserted	Fires just after new rows are inserted in the current recordset.

Methods

The colGroup object has these methods.

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	Note attachEvent is no longer supported. Starting with IE11, use addEventListener. For info, see Compatibility changes. 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.
click	Simulates a click by causing the onclick event to fire.
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.
doScroll	Note doScroll is no longer supported. Starting with IE11, use scrollLeft or scrollTop. For info, see Compatibility changes. Simulates a click on a scroll bar component.
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.
getAttributeNodeNS	Gets an attribute object that matches the specified namespace and name.
getAttributeNS	Gets the value of the specified attribute within the specified namespace.
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.
getElementsByClassName	Gets a collection of objects that are based on the value of the class attribute.
getElementsByTagName	Retrieves a collection of objects based on the specified element name.
getElementsByTagNameNS	Gets a collection of objects that are based on the specified element names within a specified namespace.
hasAttribute	Determines whether an attribute with the specified name exists.
hasAttributeNS	Determines whether an attribute that has the specified namespace and name exists.
hasAttributes	Determines whether one or more attributes exist for the object.
hasChildNodes	Returns a value that indicates whether the object has children.
insertAdjacentElement	Inserts an element at the specified location.
insertAdjacentHTML	Inserts the given HTML text into the element at the location.
insertAdjacentText	Inserts the given text into the 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.
msMatchesSelector	Determines whether an object matches the specified selector.
normalize	Merges adjacent DOM objects to produce a normalized document object model.
querySelector	Retrieves the first DOM element node from descendants of the starting element node that match any selector within the supplied selector string.
querySelectorAll	Retrieves all DOM element nodes from descendants of the starting element node that match any selector within the supplied selector strings.
removeAttribute	Removes an attribute from an object.
removeAttributeNode	Removes an attribute object from the object.
removeAttributeNS	Removes the specified attribute from the object.
removeBehavior	Detaches a behavior from the element.
removeChild	Removes a child node from the object.
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.
setActive	Sets the object as active without setting focus to the object.
setAttribute	Sets the value of the specified attribute.
setAttributeNode	Sets an attribute object node as part of the object.
setAttributeNodeNS	Sets an attribute object as part of the object.
setAttributeNS	Sets the value of the specified attribute within the specified namespace.
setCapture	Sets the mouse capture to the object that belongs to the current document.
swapNode	Exchanges the location of two objects in the document hierarchy.

Properties

The colGroup object has these properties.

Property	Description
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.
attributes	Retrieves a collection of attributes of the object.
BGCOLOR	Sets the background color behind an object.
canHaveChildren	Gets a value indicating whether the object can contain child objects.
canHaveHTML	Retrieves the value indicating whether the object can contain rich HTML markup.
childElementCount	Retrieves the number of immediate child nodes of the current element or a zero if the element does not contain any child nodes. childElementCount does not return all child nodes, only child nodes that are nodeType =1, or element nodes.
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	Sets or retrieves the reading order of the object.
firstChild	Gets a reference to the first child in the childNodes collection of the object.
firstElementChild	Retrieves a reference to the first child element, or null if there are no child elements.
id	Sets or retrieves the string identifying the object.
innerHTML	Sets or retrieves the HTML between the start and end tags of the object.
innerText	Sets or retrieves the text between the start and end tags of the object.
isContentEditable	Gets the value that indicates whether the user can edit the contents of the object.
isDisabled	Gets the value that indicates 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	Sets or retrieves the language to use.
language	Sets or retrieves the language in which the current script is written. Note This has been superceded by the type attribute for the script element. If you are using javascript alone, you don't need to specify a type or language with the script element.
lastChild	Gets a reference to the last child in the childNodes collection of an object.
lastElementChild	Retrieves a reference to the last child element or null if there are no child elements.
nextElementSibling	Retrieves a reference to the sibling element that immediately follows or null if the element does not have any sibling elements that follow it.
nextSibling	Retrieves a reference to the next child of the parent for the object.
nodeName	Gets the name of a particular type of node.
nodeType	Retrieves the type of the requested node.
nodeValue	Gets or sets 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.
outerHTML	Sets or retrieves the object and its content in HTML.
outerText	Sets or retrieves the text of the object.
ownerDocument	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.
previousElementSibling	Retrieves a reference to the immediately preceding sibling element or null if the element does not have any preceding siblings.
previousSibling	Gets a reference to the previous child of the parent for the object.
readyState	Retrieves the current state of the object.
recordNumber	Retrieves the ordinal record from the data set that generated the object.
role	Sets or retrieves the role for this element.
scopeName	Gets the namespace defined for the element. This property is not supported for Windows apps using JavaScript.
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	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 gets the URN specified in the namespace declaration. This property is not supported for Windows apps using JavaScript.
title	Sets or retrieves advisory information (a ToolTip) for the object.
uniqueID	Retrieves an autogenerated, unique identifier for the object.
uniqueNumber	Retrieves the element's unique number.
vAlign	Sets or retrieves how text and other content are vertically aligned within the object that contains them.
width	Sets or retrieves the width of the object.

Standards information

HTML 4.01 Specification, Section 11.2.4

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 .

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.

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, see Building Tables Dynamically.

Windows Internet Explorer 8 will only render tables up to 1000 columns. To force Windows Internet Explorer 7 rendering mode, see How Do I Take Advantage of the New Features in Internet Explorer 8.

Examples

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

Code example: http://samples.msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/samples/author/dhtml/refs/colgroupEX1.htm


<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. In this example, the last column has no formatting even though COLGROUP spans over all three columns. This happens because the SPAN attribute of the nested COL element overrides the SPAN attribute of the COLGROUP.

Code example: http://samples.msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/samples/author/dhtml/refs/colgroupEX2.htm


<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 consistent
    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>

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