lucy24 - 7:13 am on Jan 1, 2013 (gmt 0)

I'm actually not concerned about the widths of the two side columns

But you need to be concerned about them, because if they are different, then the middle cell will be off center. That's why one of my ideas was making a table with fixed layout so the side cells are the same width. Or some definite, knowable width so you'll know how to position the table horizontally.

In fact, it's the middle cell that's going to be irrelevant to the problem. What you need is
{from left edge of container to left edge of central cell}
and
{from right edge of central cell to right edge of container}
to be the same. That's assuming the container itself is centered (is it the whole page?) -- but that's secondary and can be tweaked later.

I assume you've dealt with the rock-bottom basics like giving each cell the same left and right padding and border, if any. (Tables have margins. Cells have padding.)

{width: auto} is the default for tables, so that doesn't mean anything. What you need to look at is those two side cells or columns. What's their content? Is it about the same amount of material in each? Text or something else?

Oh, and, er, ahem. This is all assuming it's a bona fide table -- that is, there's a direct relationship among the items in each row * -- and not just a layout shortcut. Sometimes tables really can save a lot of time and trouble, but this is not one of those times.


* I've got a lurking suspicion that w3c themselves don't know what a table is. What is "tabular data" and why do they assume everyone agrees on this definition?