HTML <thead> data-* Attribute

HTML <th>

HTML <time>

A data-* attribute on a <thead> tag attaches additional data to the table header.

To create a custom attribute, replace * with a lowercase string, such as data-id, data-status, or data-location.

Example

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A custom data-description attribute on a <thead> tag.
The attribute value is not visible, but is readable by JavaScript.

First name	Last name
Denice	Hobermann
Paulo	Cornell

<style>
  table.tb { width:300px; border-collapse: collapse; }
  .tb th, .tb td { border: solid 1px #777; padding: 5px; }
  .tb thead { background-color:lightblue; }
</style>

<table class="tb">
  <thead data-description="Header title for the list of active customers">
    <tr>
      <th>First name</th>
      <th>Last name</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>

  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Denice</td>
      <td>Hobermann</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Paulo</td>
      <td>Cornell</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Using data-*

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The data-* attribute adds custom information to a <thead> element.

The * part is replaced with a lowercase string, such as data-id, data-cost, or data-location.

An <thead> element can have any number of data-* attributes, each with their own name.

Using data-* attributes reduces the need for requests to the server.

Note: The data-* attribute is not visible and does not change the appearance of the thead.

Syntax

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<thead data-*="value">

Note: The * can be any string, such as data-id, data-cost, data-supplier, etc.

Values

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Value	Description
value	A string value. Can be numeric, alphanumeric, JSON, etc.

More Examples

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A custom data-description attribute on a <thead> tag.
Clicking the button will display the description value.

First name	Last name
Denice	Hobermann
Paulo	Cornell

<style>
  table.tb { width:300px; border-collapse: collapse; }
  .tb th, .tb td { border: solid 1px #777; padding: 5px; }
  .tb thead { background-color:lightblue; }
</style>

<table class="tb">
  <thead id="mythead" data-description="Active customers">
    <tr>
      <th>First name</th>
      <th>Last name</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>

  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Denice</td>
      <td>Hobermann</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Paulo</td>
      <td>Cornell</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

<br/>
<button onclick="show();">Show data</button>

<script>
  let show = () => {
    let element = document.getElementById("mythead");
    alert("Description = " + element.getAttribute('data-description'));
  }
</script>

Code explanation

The <thead> tag has a custom data-description attribute.

The data-description attribute describes what type of data is in the <thead>.

Clicks are handled by the onclick event.

Onclick invokes a JavaScript function that extracts and displays the <thead> description.

Note: Notice how the description displays immediately without server call.

Browser support

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Here is when data-* support started for each browser: