Markdown tables use pipes to separate columns and hyphens to define
the header separator row. The basic syntax looks like this:
| Column one | Column two | Column three |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Value | Value |
| Value | Value | Value |
The hyphens in the second row create the visual header separator.
Column alignment is set with colons: :--- for left, ---: for right,
and :---: for center.
The main limitation of Markdown tables is that they require every
row to have the same number of cells separated by pipes, and the
alignment must be consistent. Building a large table by hand means
counting pipes and keeping the column widths consistent, which gets
tedious quickly.
Markdown also does not support merged cells. If you need a cell
that spans multiple columns, Markdown tables are not the right
format: you need HTML.
For quick tables with simple content, writing Markdown by hand is
fast. For tables with many columns, numeric formatting, or specific
alignment requirements, a visual builder is faster.
Tablesmit exports to CSV which you can convert to Markdown using
any number of online converters, or you can export to PNG and embed
the image in your Markdown document if the platform supports images.
GitHub READMEs, for example, render both Markdown tables and image
embeds.
Free, no account, MIT licensed. tablesmit.com
This post originally appeared on the Tablesmit Blog at tablesmit.com/blog/how-to-make-a-table-in-markdown. Tablesmit is a free, open source table builder. Export to PDF, Excel, LaTeX, CSV, PNG. No account required. Try it at tablesmit.com.
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