to tables in HTML go far beyond the simplicities of just rows and columns. The Table dialog exposes a few options, separated into three parts: Table Size, Header, and Accessibility. A detailed list of the features in these three parts is given here: Rows: Enter a number in this text box to set the number of rows that the table will contain. Columns: Enter a number in this text box to set the number of columns (cells within a row) that a table will have. Table width: Enter a number in this text box to set the width in either pixels or a percent that a table will have. Border thickness: Enter a number in this text box to set the thickness of the border in pixels that the table will have. If you don't enter a value here, browsers will interpret the border thickness as 1. To avoid this problem, either enter a numeric value greater than 0 or if you don't want a border, enter 0. Cell padding: Enter a number in this text box to set the padding value between the contents of a cell and the cell border. If you don't enter a value here, browsers will interpret the cell padding as 1. To avoid this problem, either enter a numeric value greater than 0 or if you don't want cell padding, enter 0. Cell spacing: Enter a number in this text box to set the spacing in between cells. If you don't enter a value here, browsers will interpret the cell spacing as 2. To avoid this problem, either enter a numeric value greater than 0 or if you don't want cell spacing, enter 0. Header: Headers are a quick way of formatting rows in a table such that the contents of the header are centered and bolded. Four options exist when working with headers. Choose None (the default) if you don't want a header in your table. Choose Left if you'd like to have the left side of the table designated as a header, choose Top if you'd like to designate the top portion of the table as a header, and finally choose Both if you'd like to designate both the top and left portions of the table as headers. Caption: As an accessibility option, enter a value in this text box to have text appear outside the table, describing the contents of the table. Align caption: Choose an option from this menu to set the alignment of the caption in relation to the table. There are five options including Default (Center), Top, Bottom, Left, and Right. Summary: An important accessibility option is the summary attribute of the table. Because screen readers cannot decipher the contents of a table, entering a brief description here ensures that users with screen readers can get an accurate portrayal of the contents of your table. For this demonstration, format your table so that you have 2 rows, 2 columns, a width of 400 pixels, and border, cell padding, and cell spacing of 0. When you've formatted the Table dialog appropriately, click OK to insert the new table into the page (see Figure 6.4). Figure 6.4. The new table is inserted into the page. [View full size image]   Selecting Table Elements Before we begin formatting the page using a table, it's important to glance over some important concepts including a topic as simple as selecting the table and elements such as rows and cells within the table. As your designs become more and more complex, you'll begin to work with numerous tables on a page including tables within table cells (also known as nested tables). When that time comes, the skills you learn in this section will become invaluable. There are numerous ways to select a table. First, you can select the table by simply clicking, holding the cursor on the page, and then dragging it into the