This property controls the layout algorithm used to render table
structures.
Using the "automatic" layout algorithm (the table algorithm used by
default in most browsers today), all of the table content is required in
order to determine the final table layout. For larger quantities
of tabular data, this can be MUCH slower than the "fixed"
table layout algorithm, especially since more than one analysis
might need to be performed on the table data. However, this algorithm
does find sufficient minimum and maximum widths for each
column, allowing all content in the table's data cells to be
appropriately rendered as specified by the author.
Under the "fixed" layout method, the entire table
can be rendered once the first table row has been downloaded and
analyzed. This can drastically speed up rendering time over the
"automatic" layout method, but subsequent cell content may not
fit in the column widths provided (the 'clip'
and 'overflow' properties
control the cell appearance in such a case.)
Allowed Values
inherit
[CSS2|CSS2.1]
[N6|O7]
Type: Explicit
Description:
Explicitly sets the value of this property to that of the parent.
auto
[CSS2|CSS2.1]
[IE5|N6|O7]
Type: Calculated
Description:
Use the automatic table layout algorithm (the method commonly in use in
most browsers for table layout.)
fixed
[CSS2|CSS2.1]
[IE5|N6|O7]
Type: Explicit
Description:
Use the fixed table layout algorithm.