Template:Sticky header

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This template uses TemplateStyles:

Template:Sticky header/styles.css

This template makes a table's column headers stick to the top of the screen as the table's data is scrolled in and out of view. It's used on tall tables that have column headers that might be difficult to remember as you scroll through the data.

Usage

Add {{sticky header}} above a table and add one of the following classes to the table start wikitext.

Table classes.
Class	Summary
sticky-header	Make the first header row top sticky.
sticky-header-multi	Requires sortable. Make multiple header rows top sticky. Header columns may still be defined individually as unsortable. Avoid use with the `sorttop` class that becomes sticky after sorting. Avoid making headers sticky that aren't for the entire table (ex. section header rows). Avoid making excessively tall header rows sticky that might block too much data on short screens (ex. mobile landscape).

Single sticky header row

The sticky-header class is used to make the first header row top sticky. Sortable is not required.

{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"
|+ Caption
|-
! Color !! A !! B !! C
|- class=sorttop
| '''Max''' || 10 || 11 || 12
|-
| Red || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
| Lime || 4 || 5 || 6
|-
| Gold || 7 || 8 || 9
|-
| Blue || 10 || 11 || 12
|- class=sortbottom
| '''Total''' || 22 || 26 || 30
|}

Multiple sticky header rows

Tracked in Phabricator
Task T6740

Tracked in Phabricator
Task T355492

The sticky-header-multi class is used to make multiple header rows top sticky. Sortable is required since it is currently the only way to move consecutive rows of column headers to the <thead> element. Header columns may still be defined individually as unsortable. If JavaScript is disabled, then sortable and this solution won't work.

Avoid using the sorttop class since sortable moves those rows into the <thead> element after sorting, which makes them top sticky too. A solution might be to move them to the bottom and use the sortbottom class instead.

{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi"
|+ Caption
|-
! rowspan=2 | Color
! colspan=3 | Data
|-
! A !! B !! C
|-
| Red || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
| Lime || 4 || 5 || 6
|-
| Gold || 7 || 8 || 9
|-
| Blue || 10 || 11 || 12
|- class=sortbottom
| '''Max''' || 10 || 11 || 12
|- class=sortbottom
| '''Total''' || 22 || 26 || 30
|}

Header rows not for whole table

Consecutive rows of column headers are top sticky, so avoid adding a row of headers right under the column headers that don't apply to the entire table such as a section header meant to visually separate the table.

A solution might be to move each section to a column or separate tables, which also avoids accessibility issues per MOS:COLHEAD.

Another solution might be to add a blank row of data cells (| colspan=4 |) between the last column header row and the first section header row so the latter is not included in the consecutive header rows.

{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi"
|+ Caption
|-
! rowspan=2 | Color
! colspan=3 | Data
|-
! A !! B !! C
|-
| colspan=4 |
|-
! colspan=4 | Section 1
|-
| Red || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
| Lime || 4 || 5 || 6
|-
! colspan=4 | Section 2
|-
| Gold || 7 || 8 || 9
|-
| Blue || 10 || 11 || 12
|}

Excessively tall header rows

Avoid excessively tall header rows that might block too much or all data when sticky on a small mobile screen, especially in landscape orientation. Some solutions might be to move some of the header text to the table caption, more concise header text, remove line-breaks (<br>) in the headers, or split the table up into smaller tables to reduce headers.

Caption
Header group 1
Header group 2		Header group 3
Header 1	Header 2	Header 3	Header 4
data	data	data	data
data	data	data	data
data	data	data	data
data	data	data	data
data	data	data	data
data	data	data	data
data	data	data	data
data	data	data	data

Known issues

Tested in browsers on Windows 10, Windows 11, iOS 17 (iphone SE 2020), and Android 14 (Samsung Galaxy S21).

On Android phones, table headers aren't top-sticky if at least one table using this template is wider than the screen, which is more likely in portrait orientation. The table's horizontal scroll doesn't work with this template, so wide tables span outside of the main content area making the entire page wider and requiring you to instead horizontally scroll the entire page. Zooming out to see the entire table makes the headers sticky, but also makes the text smaller and less readable the wider the table is. Currently, the only semi-solution is to view the zoomed out sticky headers in landscape orientation instead of portrait orientation so that the text is more readable.