How do you define table headers and footers in DITA?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

In DITA, table headers and footers can be defined using specific elements to provide context and additional information to table content.

Table Headers:

Table headers provide context to the columns in a table. In DITA, table headers are typically placed at the beginning of a table within a <thead> element. The <row> and <entry> elements can be used to define header content for each column.

Example:

This is a sample of how table headers might be defined. 


<table>
  <title>Sample Table with Headers</title>
  <tgroup cols="3">
    <thead>
      <row>
        <entry>Header 1</entry>
        <entry>Header 2</entry>
        <entry>Header 3</entry>
      </row>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <!-- Table body rows and data -->
    </tbody>
  </tgroup>
</table>

Table Footers:

Table footers provide additional information at the end of a table, such as notes, explanations, or references. In DITA, the <tfoot> element is used to define table footers. Similar to headers, <row> and <entry> elements can be used to structure the footer content.

Example:

This is a sample of how table footers might be defined. 


<table>
  <title>Sample Table with Footer</title>
  <tgroup cols="3">
    <thead>
      <row>
        <entry>Header 1</entry>
        <entry>Header 2</entry>
        <entry>Header 3</entry>
      </row>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <!-- Table body rows and data -->
    </tbody>
    <tfoot>
      <row>
        <entry>Footer 1</entry>
        <entry>Footer 2</entry>
        <entry>Footer 3</entry>
      </row>
    </tfoot>
  </tgroup>
</table>

Example:

This is a sample of a table with both headers and footers. 


<table>
  <title>Sample Table with Header and Footer</title>
  <tgroup cols="3">
    <thead>
      <row>
        <entry>Item</entry>
        <entry>Description</entry>
        <entry>Quantity</entry>
      </row>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <row>
        <entry>Product A</entry>
        <entry>High-quality product</entry>
        <entry>10</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry>Product B</entry>
        <entry>Advanced features</entry>
        <entry>5</entry>
      </row>
    </tbody>
    <tfoot>
      <row>
        <entry>Total:</entry>
        <entry/>
        <entry>15</entry>
      </row>
    </tfoot>
  </tgroup>
</table>

In this example, the <thead> element contains column headers, the <tbody> holds the data, and the <tfoot> defines a summary footer for the table.