Why does overflow:hidden not work in a <td>?

Question

I've got a table cell that I would always like to be a particular width. However, it doesn't work with large strings of unspaced text. Here's a test case:

td {
  border: solid green 1px;
  width: 200px;
  overflow: hidden;
}

<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

How do I get the text to be cut off at the edge of the box, rather than having the box expand?

Answer 1

Here is the same problem.

You need to set table-layout:fixed and a suitable width on the table element, as well as overflow:hidden and white-space: nowrap on the table cells.

---

Examples

Fixed width columns

The width of the table has to be the same (or smaller) than the fixed width cell(s).

With one fixed width column:

* {
  box-sizing: border-box;
}
table {
  table-layout: fixed;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  width: 100%;
  max-width: 100px;
}
td {
  background: #F00;
  padding: 20px;
  overflow: hidden;
  white-space: nowrap;
  width: 100px;
  border: solid 1px #000;
}

<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

With multiple fixed width columns:

* {
  box-sizing: border-box;
}
table {
  table-layout: fixed;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  width: 100%;
  max-width: 200px;
}
td {
  background: #F00;
  padding: 20px;
  overflow: hidden;
  white-space: nowrap;
  width: 100px;
  border: solid 1px #000;
}

<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Fixed and fluid width columns

A width for the table must be set, but any extra width is simply taken by the fluid cell(s).

With multiple columns, fixed width and fluid width:

* {
  box-sizing: border-box;
}
table {
  table-layout: fixed;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  width: 100%;
}
td {
  background: #F00;
  padding: 20px;
  border: solid 1px #000;
}
tr td:first-child {
  overflow: hidden;
  white-space: nowrap;
  width: 100px;
}

<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
      <td>
        This_is_a_terrible_example_of_thinking_outside_the_box.
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>