Minimum width of first table column

Question

Is there any way to have the left, first column to have a minimum width...... like 50%?

I've got a varied amount of separate tables (with different headings so they're separate pieces of data).

Obviously table columns change their width according to how much content is within them... if it needs the extra space then it will take more space from other columns in the same table... that's cool but when theres alot of space and it doesn't need any extra space then its alot tidier if they all just stay the same width... like 50%

http://jsfiddle.net/mqatP/5/

Any idea how to do this without testing in PHP how much content is going inside them and adding different classes?

Answer 1

I was surprised to find out that min-width doesn't do the trick. However, after playing with it for a while, I came across this solution:

td:first-child {
    width: 40%;
    white-space: nowrap;
}