How to write lists inside a markdown table?

Question

Can one create a list (bullets, numbered or not) inside a markdown table.

A table looks like this:

| Tables        | Are           | Cool  |
| ------------- |:-------------:| -----:|
| col 3 is      | right-aligned | $1600 |
| col 2 is      | centered      |   $12 |
| zebra stripes | are neat      |    $1 |

A list looks like this:

* one
* two
* three

Can I merge them somehow?

Answer 1

Yes, you can merge them using HTML. When I create tables in .md files from Github, I always like to use HTML code instead of markdown.

Github Flavored Markdown supports basic HTML in .md file. So this would be the answer:

Markdown mixed with HTML:

| Tables        | Are           | Cool  |
| ------------- |:-------------:| -----:|
| col 3 is      | right-aligned | $1600 |
| col 2 is      | centered      |   $12 |
| zebra stripes | are neat      |    $1 |
| <ul><li>item1</li><li>item2</li></ul>| See the list | from the first column|

Or pure HTML:

<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <th>Tables</th>
      <th align="center">Are</th>
      <th align="right">Cool</th>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>col 3 is</td>
      <td align="center">right-aligned</td>
      <td align="right">$1600</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>col 2 is</td>
      <td align="center">centered</td>
      <td align="right">$12</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>zebra stripes</td>
      <td align="center">are neat</td>
      <td align="right">$1</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>
        <ul>
          <li>item1</li>
          <li>item2</li>
        </ul>
      </td>
      <td align="center">See the list</td>
      <td align="right">from the first column</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

This is how it looks on Github:

Answer 2

If you want a no-bullet list (or any other non-standard usage) or more lines in a cell use <br />

| Event         | Platform      | Description |
| ------------- |-----------| -----:|
| `message_received`| `facebook-messenger`<br/>`skype`|

Answer 3

Not that I know of, because all markdown references I am aware of, like this one, mention:

Cell content must be on one line only

You can try it with that Markdown Tables Generator (whose example looks like the one you mention in your question, so you may be aware of it already).

Pandoc

If you are using Pandoc’s markdown (which extends John Gruber’s markdown syntax on which the GitHub Flavored Markdown is based) you can use either grid_tables:

+---------------+---------------+--------------------+
| Fruit         | Price         | Advantages         |
+===============+===============+====================+
| Bananas       | $1.34         | - built-in wrapper |
|               |               | - bright color     |
+---------------+---------------+--------------------+
| Oranges       | $2.10         | - cures scurvy     |
|               |               | - tasty            |
+---------------+---------------+--------------------+

or multiline_tables.

-------------------------------------------------------------
 Centered   Default           Right Left
  Header    Aligned         Aligned Aligned
----------- ------- --------------- -------------------------
   First    row                12.0 Example of a row that
                                    spans multiple lines.

  Second    row                 5.0 Here's another one. Note
                                    the blank line between
                                    rows.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Answer 4

An alternative approach, which I've recently implemented, is to use the div-table plugin with panflute.

This creates a table from a set of fenced divs (standard in the pandoc implementation of markdown), in a similar layout to html:

---
panflute-filters: [div-table]
panflute-path: 'panflute/docs/source'
---

::::: {.divtable}
:::: {.tcaption}
a caption here (optional), only the first paragraph is used.
::::
:::: {.thead}
[Header 1]{width=0.4 align=center}
[Header 2]{width=0.6 align=default}
::::
:::: {.trow}
::: {.tcell}

1. any
2. normal markdown
3. can go in a cell

:::
::: {.tcell}
![](https://pixabay.com/get/e832b60e2cf7043ed1584d05fb0938c9bd22ffd41cb2144894f9c57aae/bird-1771435_1280.png?attachment){width=50%}

some text
:::
::::
:::: {.trow bypara=true}
If bypara=true

Then each paragraph will be treated as a separate column
::::
any text outside a div will be ignored
:::::

Looks like:

Answer 5

If you use the html approach:

don't add blank lines

Like this:

<table>
    <tbody>

        <tr>
            <td>1</td>
            <td>2</td>
        </tr>

        <tr>
            <td>1</td>
            <td>2</td>
        </tr>

    </tbody>
</table>

the markup will break.

Remove blank lines:

<table>
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <td>1</td>
            <td>2</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td>1</td>
            <td>2</td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>