`RULES = GROUPS`

RULES=GROUPS allows you to put borders between groups of table cells. There are two ways cells can be grouped: by row and by column. Let's go over each of them. Note that currently Netscape does not recognize RULES.

Grouping By Row

To group by row use the <THEAD ...>, <TBODY ...>, <TFOOT ...> tags. <THEAD ...> indicates the header rows of the table, <TBODY ...> indicates the main body of the table, and <TFOOT ...> indicates the bottom rows. So, for example, this code creates a table with three groups. Borders appear just between groups:

<TABLE BORDER=2 RULES=GROUPS>

<THEAD>
<TR> <TH>Name</TH> <TH>Food</TH> <TH>Price</TH> </TR>
</THEAD>

<TBODY>
<TR> <TD>Starflower</TD> <TD>stir fied tofu</TD> <TD>5.95</TD> </TR>
<TR> <TD>Miko</TD> <TD>vegetable rice soup</TD> <TD>4.95</TD> </TR>
<TR> <TD>Andy</TD> <TD>hummus</TD> <TD>3.95</TD> </TR>
<TR> <TD>Ping</TD> <TD>french toast</TD> <TD>5.95</TD> </TR>
</TBODY>

<TFOOT>
<TR> <TH COLSPAN=2>Total</TH> 
<TD>20.80</TD> </TR>
</TFOOT>

</TABLE>

which gives us this table

Name Food Price

Starflower stir fied tofu 5.95

Miko vegetable rice soup 4.95

Andy hummus 3.95

Ping french toast 5.95

Total 20.80

Grouping By Column

To group by column use the <COLGROUP ...> tag and its SPAN attribute. <COLGROUP ...> takes a little getting used to because it doesn't actually go around any table cells. It goes at the top of the table code where it sets rules about the table columns including which are grouped together. <COLGROUP SPAN="..."> to indicates how many columns are in each group. If you leave SPAN out then it is assumed the group has just one column. So, for example, the following code says that the first column is in a group by itself and the three after that are together in a group. Notice that <COLGROUP ...> requires an end tag. Borders will go only between the groups:

<TABLE BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=4 RULES=GROUPS  FRAME=BOX>

<COLGROUP></COLGROUP>
<COLGROUP SPAN=3></COLGROUP>

which gives us this table:

Weekday Date Manager Qty

Monday 09/11 Kelsey 639

Tuesday 09/12 Lindsey 596

Wednesday 09/13 Randy 1135

Thursday 09/14 Susan 1002

Friday 09/15 Randy 908

Saturday 09/16 Lindsey 371

Sunday 09/17 Susan 272