Help:Collapsing

This page is about collapsing tables. For collapsing other parts, see WP:NAVFRAME.

Collapsible tables provide a way to collapse and uncollapse a table when a show/hide button is clicked. The code for this feature is found in the MediaWiki:Common.js.

The initial state of any collapsible content can be controlled using a "collapsible table", because it also allows a table with only one element with content, and a header.

Simple example

Tables are simpler to work with, as you merely need to add the mw-collapsible class to the table itself. For the [hide]/[show] link to appear, the table's first row must be a header row, that is, one of the cells in the first row must be declared with an exclamation mark (in wikisyntax). The use of the class wikitable in the example below is merely for appearance; it is not needed for mw-collapsible to function.

Code entered	Output produced
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" ! Simple collapsible table |- | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet |}	Simple collapsible table Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Using the syntax above, collapsible tables are often used to always display an introduction to, or summary of, a lengthy discussion or section of content, while hiding the majority of that content from immediate view. The summary message is put in the header cell, and the content is placed into the body cell. The content is then easily accessible by clicking the 'show' button. The collapsible functionality is also available in larger and more complicated tables, as long as there is a header cell in the first row of the table.

Code entered	Output produced
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |A normal cell in the header row ! colspan="2"| Header cell spans two cols |- | colspan="2" | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet | Separate body cell |}	A normal cell in the header row Header cell spans two cols Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Separate body cell

Collapsing tables by default

Just using the mw-collapsible class produces a table which is expanded by default, but can be collapsed by the reader. It is also possible to create tables which are collapsed by default, and can be optionally expanded. There are several methods for doing this, depending on the situations in which you want the table to collapse.

"collapsed"

Adding the collapsed class will cause the table to always be initially collapsed, no matter what happens around it. It is the simplest method for doing so. Using the examples above:

Code entered	Output produced
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible collapsed" ! Simple collapsible table |- | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet |}	Simple collapsible table Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible collapsed" |A normal cell in the header row ! colspan="2"| Header cell spans two cols |- | colspan="2" | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet | Separate body cell |}	A normal cell in the header row Header cell spans two cols Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet Separate body cell

"autocollapse"

Adding the autocollapse class causes the table to collapse when there are 2 or more collapsible tables on the page (this threshold might be different on other projects). The example below, therefore, collapses because there are numerous collapsible tables on the page.

Code entered	Output produced
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible autocollapse" ! Simple collapsible table |- | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet |}	Simple collapsible table Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

"innercollapse" and "outercollapse"

Using this pair of classes, it is possible to make a table collapsed by default only when it is contained within a particular object, such as another table. This is mainly useful for tables inside templates, which are often nested.

Code entered	Output produced
{| class="wikitable outercollapse" ! This table does not collapse |- | But the table inside this cell {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible innercollapse" ! Does collapse |- | Hiding this part |} |}	This table does not collapse But the table inside this cell Does collapse Hiding this part

Other notes

Sortable tables

Collapsible tables can be combined with the sortable tables functionality without difficulty. However, because the hide/show button is placed with mw-collapsible in the first header cell located or with mw-collapsible in the right header cell, its positioning can look a bit peculiar if the cell is not wide enough:

Code entered	Output produced
{|class="wikitable mw-collapsible sortable" style="width:5em" <!--table width too narrow, on purpose here--> |- ! Name !! Score |- | John || 59 |- | Bob || 72 |}	Name Score John 59 Bob 72

Possible alternative is to add an caption over the table. See the following example.

Code entered	Output produced
{|class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" |+ Caption ! Name !! Score |- | John || 59 |- | Bob || 72 |}	Caption Name Score John 59 Bob 72

Customization

Registered users can edit their personal js file to change some of the variables used.

autoCollapse = 4 //how many collapsible tables on the page before autocollapse works (default=2)
var collapseCaption = 'collapse' //text of the [hide] link (default='hide')
var expandCaption = 'uncollapse' //text of the [show] link (default='show')

Other HTML elements

The code that performs the manipulation only checks for table elements, so these classes will not work for other elements, such as <div> or <span>. There is a similar feature for use with <div> elements, called "NavFrame".

Limitations

This functionality requires the end-user's browser to have JavaScript enabled. If Javascript is disabled, the default behaviour is to show the content.

See also

Documentation:

• Wikipedia:Manual of Style § Scrolling lists and collapsible content – style guidelines for collapsing content
• Help:Table
• Help:Table of contents

Templates:

• {{Collapse}}
• {{Collapse-top}} and {{Collapse-bottom}} – More feature-rich than {{collapse}}
• {{Hidden}}
• {{Navbar-collapsible}}

External links

• meta:Help:Collapsing
• mw:Manual:Collapsible elements
• mw:ResourceLoader/Default modules#jquery.makeCollapsible