Why does a html table have difficulty with a css-based background & width if the table cell is empty? For example, if i have a table cell defined as:

<td class="SkinRow1Cell1"></td>

and the class is as:

.SkinRow1Cell1{
   background-image:url(images/bk_1.jpg;
   width:16;
}

Why is it necessary to add something like &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; to the cell directly in order to have the image display completely? Thanks kindly for any pointers.. drew..

 

The HTML 3.2 spec more or less tells the browser to ignore empty cells:

Tables are commonly rendered in bas-relief, raised up with the outer border as a bevel, and individual cells inset into this raised surface. Borders around individual cells are only drawn if the cell has explicit content. White space doesn't count for this purpose with the exception of &nbsp;.

Using CSS, this can be mitigated by using:

table { empty-cells:show; }

Browser mileage will vary.

Nik

 

---

Nik Kalyani
Co-founder
DotNetNuke Corporation
Blog | Twitter | FaceBook

Thanks to everyone who posted. I will go thru the posts and glean what i can. I had found the empty-cell nothingness issue, and sort of slapped my forehead with a "duh", and for the most part am getting the results i need, but not quite. But i do appreciate the efforts, and hopefully the question can help others, cheers, drew..