How do I create an HTML table with a fixed/frozen left column and a scrollable body?

Question

I need a simple solution. I know it's similar to some other questions, like:

• HTML table with fixed headers and a fixed column?
• How can I lock the first row and first column of a table when scrolling, possibly using JavaScript and CSS?

But I need just a single left column to be frozen and I would prefer a simple and script-less solution.

Answer 1

If you want a table where only the columns scroll horizontally, you can position: absolute the first column (and specify its width explicitly), and then wrap the entire table in an overflow-x: scroll block. Don't bother trying this in IE7, however...

Relevant HTML & CSS:

table {    border-collapse: separate;    border-spacing: 0;    border-top: 1px solid grey;  }    td, th {    margin: 0;    border: 1px solid grey;    white-space: nowrap;    border-top-width: 0px;  }    div {    width: 500px;    overflow-x: scroll;    margin-left: 5em;    overflow-y: visible;    padding: 0;  }    .headcol {    position: absolute;    width: 5em;    left: 0;    top: auto;    border-top-width: 1px;    /*only relevant for first row*/    margin-top: -1px;    /*compensate for top border*/  }    .headcol:before {    content: 'Row ';  }    .long {    background: yellow;    letter-spacing: 1em;  }

<div>  <table>          <tr><th class="headcol">1</th><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td></tr>          <tr><th class="headcol">2</th><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td></tr>          <tr><th class="headcol">3</th><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td></tr>          <tr><th class="headcol">4</th><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td></tr>          <tr><th class="headcol">5</th><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td></tr>          <tr><th class="headcol">6</th><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td><td class="long">QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM</td></tr>  </table>  </div>

Fiddle