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center a table in css

Code snippet for how to center a table in css with sample and detail explanation

Tables are an integral part of web design. However, centering a table using CSS can be a challenging task especially for beginners. This article will take you through some simple steps and code snippets that can be used to center a table using CSS.

Code snippet to Center a Table in CSS

Here is a quick snippet of CSS code to center a table:

.center-table {
    margin-left: auto;
    margin-right: auto;
}
<table class="center-table">
    <!-- Table contents -->
</table>

Code Explanation for Centering a Table in CSS

CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a style sheet language used to describe the look and formatting of a document written in HTML. It’s used by the majority of websites to create visually engaging webpages, user interfaces for web applications, and user interfaces for many mobile applications.

To center a table using CSS, we need to use the margin-left and margin-right properties and set them to auto. These properties are used to create space on the left and right side of an HTML element.

Here is the breakdown of the code:

  • margin-left: auto;: This tells the browser to calculate the margin on the left side of the table.

  • margin-right: auto;: This does the same as margin-left but on the right side of the table.

This will center the table because a rule in CSS is that if the left and right margins are set to auto, the browser will automatically adjust the margins to center the element within its parent.

Next, add the class .center-table that contains these styles to your table in your HTML file using the class attribute. By doing this, you are applying the styles in the .center-table class to your table, which centers it.

And that’s all! With these steps, you have learned how to center a table in CSS. As a developer, understanding these types of basic implementations can greatly improve your web designing skills. Happy coding!

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