Template:Sticky header

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This template is used on approximately 4,300 pages and changes may be widely noticed. Test changes in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them.

Redirect

{{sticky-header}}

This template uses TemplateStyles:

Template:Sticky header/styles.css (sandbox)

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

Include this template by adding {{sticky header}} or its redirect {{sticky-header}} above a table. Add one of the following classes to the table start wikitext.

Classes for table start wikitext: `{| class="class1 class2"`.
Class	Summary
`sticky-header`	Make the first header row top sticky.
`sticky-header-multi`	Requires sortable table. Make multiple header rows top sticky. 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.

</syntaxhighlight>

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 table is required since sortable is currently the only way to move consecutive rows of column headers to the <thead> element. If some or all columns should not be sortable, then class=unsortable can be put in the header cell with the sorting icon. Table top will still be sticky. See Help:Sortable tables. 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.

</syntaxhighlight>

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.

</syntaxhighlight>

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.

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 iPhone 14 Pro Max), 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.
<div style="overflow:auto"></div> - Do not use this around tables. It prevents sticky headers until removed. See diff. See "List by region" table.

Color	A	B	C
Max	10	11	12
Red	1	2	3
Lime	4	5	6
Gold	7	8	9
Blue	10	11	12
Total	22	26	30

Color	A	B	C
Max	10	11	12
Red	1	2	3
Lime	4	5	6
Gold	7	8	9
Blue	10	11	12
Total	22	26	30

Color	Data
Color	A	B	C
Red	1	2	3
Lime	4	5	6
Gold	7	8	9
Blue	10	11	12
Max	10	11	12
Total	22	26	30

Color	Data
Color	A	B	C
Red	1	2	3
Lime	4	5	6
Gold	7	8	9
Blue	10	11	12
Max	10	11	12
Total	22	26	30

Color	Data
Color	A	B	C

Section 1
Red	1	2	3
Lime	4	5	6
Section 2
Gold	7	8	9
Blue	10	11	12

Usage

Single sticky header row

Multiple sticky header rows

Header rows not for whole table

Excessively tall header rows

Known issues

See also