`empty-cells` CSS property

The empty-cells CSS property sets whether borders and backgrounds appear around <table> cells that have no visible content.

This property has an effect only when the border-collapse property is separate.

empty-cells: show;

empty-cells: hide;

<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
  <table class="transition-all" id="example-element">
    <tbody>
      <tr>
        <th>Client Name</th>
        <th>Age</th>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td></td>
        <td>25</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Louise Q.</td>
        <td></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Owen B.</td>
        <td></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Stan L.</td>
        <td>71</td>
      </tr>
    </tbody>
  </table>
</section>

th,
td {
  border: 2px solid #aa1199;
  padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem;
}

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
empty-cells: show;
empty-cells: hide;

/* Global values */
empty-cells: inherit;
empty-cells: initial;
empty-cells: revert;
empty-cells: revert-layer;
empty-cells: unset;

Values

This property is specified as one of the following keyword values:

• show
  • : Borders and backgrounds are drawn like in normal cells.
• hide
  • : No borders or backgrounds are drawn.

Formal definition

Formal syntax

Examples

Showing and hiding empty table cells

HTML

<table class="table_1">
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Moe</td>
      <td>Larry</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Curly</td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
<br />
<table class="table_2">
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Moe</td>
      <td>Larry</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Curly</td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

CSS

.table_1 {
  empty-cells: show;
}

.table_2 {
  empty-cells: hide;
}

td,
th {
  border: 1px solid gray;
  padding: 0.5rem;
}

Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• border-collapse
• Learn: Styling tables
• CSS table module