Question

We want to implement a solution to make the first column of a table always visible, whenever the user scrolls to the right (the table will be super-wide sometimes), the first column’s cells have to ‘stick’ to the left of a screen.
There is a non-functional restriction in a project which makes a ‘DIV approach’ not possible.

This is somewhat similar to this

Any help is highly appreciated.

Answer 1

Try and have a look at this jquery pluging.

or, even better, use DataTables which supports fixed columns.
I’ve included the sample from here.

Run code snipped in Full Page to see how it works.

$(document).ready(function() {
    $('#example').DataTable( {
        scrollY:        300,
        scrollX:        true,
        scrollCollapse: true,
        paging:         false,
        fixedColumns:   true
    } );
} );

/* Ensure that the demo table scrolls */
    th, td { white-space: nowrap; }
    div.dataTables_wrapper {
        width: 800px;
        margin: 0 auto;
    }

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://cdn.datatables.net/1.10.12/css/jquery.dataTables.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://cdn.datatables.net/fixedcolumns/3.2.2/css/fixedColumns.dataTables.min.css">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.datatables.net/1.10.12/js/jquery.dataTables.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.datatables.net/fixedcolumns/3.2.2/js/dataTables.fixedColumns.min.js"></script>

<table id="example" class="stripe row-border order-column" width="100%" cellspacing="0">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>First name</th>
                <th>Last name</th>
                <th>Position</th>
                <th>Office</th>
                <th>Age</th>
                <th>Start date</th>
                <th>Salary</th>
                <th>Extn.</th>
                <th>E-mail</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td>Tiger</td>
                <td>Nixon</td>
                <td>System Architect</td>
                <td>Edinburgh</td>
                <td>61</td>
                <td>2011/04/25</td>
                <td>$320,800</td>
                <td>5421</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Garrett</td>
                <td>Winters</td>
                <td>Accountant</td>
                <td>Tokyo</td>
                <td>63</td>
                <td>2011/07/25</td>
                <td>$170,750</td>
                <td>8422</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Ashton</td>
                <td>Cox</td>
                <td>Junior Technical Author</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>66</td>
                <td>2009/01/12</td>
                <td>$86,000</td>
                <td>1562</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Cedric</td>
                <td>Kelly</td>
                <td>Senior Javascript Developer</td>
                <td>Edinburgh</td>
                <td>22</td>
                <td>2012/03/29</td>
                <td>$433,060</td>
                <td>6224</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Airi</td>
                <td>Satou</td>
                <td>Accountant</td>
                <td>Tokyo</td>
                <td>33</td>
                <td>2008/11/28</td>
                <td>$162,700</td>
                <td>5407</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Brielle</td>
                <td>Williamson</td>
                <td>Integration Specialist</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>61</td>
                <td>2012/12/02</td>
                <td>$372,000</td>
                <td>4804</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Herrod</td>
                <td>Chandler</td>
                <td>Sales Assistant</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>59</td>
                <td>2012/08/06</td>
                <td>$137,500</td>
                <td>9608</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Rhona</td>
                <td>Davidson</td>
                <td>Integration Specialist</td>
                <td>Tokyo</td>
                <td>55</td>
                <td>2010/10/14</td>
                <td>$327,900</td>
                <td>6200</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Colleen</td>
                <td>Hurst</td>
                <td>Javascript Developer</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>39</td>
                <td>2009/09/15</td>
                <td>$205,500</td>
                <td>2360</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Sonya</td>
                <td>Frost</td>
                <td>Software Engineer</td>
                <td>Edinburgh</td>
                <td>23</td>
                <td>2008/12/13</td>
                <td>$103,600</td>
                <td>1667</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Jena</td>
                <td>Gaines</td>
                <td>Office Manager</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>30</td>
                <td>2008/12/19</td>
                <td>$90,560</td>
                <td>3814</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Quinn</td>
                <td>Flynn</td>
                <td>Support Lead</td>
                <td>Edinburgh</td>
                <td>22</td>
                <td>2013/03/03</td>
                <td>$342,000</td>
                <td>9497</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Charde</td>
                <td>Marshall</td>
                <td>Regional Director</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>36</td>
                <td>2008/10/16</td>
                <td>$470,600</td>
                <td>6741</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Haley</td>
                <td>Kennedy</td>
                <td>Senior Marketing Designer</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>43</td>
                <td>2012/12/18</td>
                <td>$313,500</td>
                <td>3597</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Tatyana</td>
                <td>Fitzpatrick</td>
                <td>Regional Director</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>19</td>
                <td>2010/03/17</td>
                <td>$385,750</td>
                <td>1965</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Michael</td>
                <td>Silva</td>
                <td>Marketing Designer</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>66</td>
                <td>2012/11/27</td>
                <td>$198,500</td>
                <td>1581</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Paul</td>
                <td>Byrd</td>
                <td>Chief Financial Officer (CFO)</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>64</td>
                <td>2010/06/09</td>
                <td>$725,000</td>
                <td>3059</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Gloria</td>
                <td>Little</td>
                <td>Systems Administrator</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>59</td>
                <td>2009/04/10</td>
                <td>$237,500</td>
                <td>1721</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Bradley</td>
                <td>Greer</td>
                <td>Software Engineer</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>41</td>
                <td>2012/10/13</td>
                <td>$132,000</td>
                <td>2558</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Dai</td>
                <td>Rios</td>
                <td>Personnel Lead</td>
                <td>Edinburgh</td>
                <td>35</td>
                <td>2012/09/26</td>
                <td>$217,500</td>
                <td>2290</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Jenette</td>
                <td>Caldwell</td>
                <td>Development Lead</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>30</td>
                <td>2011/09/03</td>
                <td>$345,000</td>
                <td>1937</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Yuri</td>
                <td>Berry</td>
                <td>Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>40</td>
                <td>2009/06/25</td>
                <td>$675,000</td>
                <td>6154</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Caesar</td>
                <td>Vance</td>
                <td>Pre-Sales Support</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>21</td>
                <td>2011/12/12</td>
                <td>$106,450</td>
                <td>8330</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Doris</td>
                <td>Wilder</td>
                <td>Sales Assistant</td>
                <td>Sidney</td>
                <td>23</td>
                <td>2010/09/20</td>
                <td>$85,600</td>
                <td>3023</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Angelica</td>
                <td>Ramos</td>
                <td>Chief Executive Officer (CEO)</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>47</td>
                <td>2009/10/09</td>
                <td>$1,200,000</td>
                <td>5797</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Gavin</td>
                <td>Joyce</td>
                <td>Developer</td>
                <td>Edinburgh</td>
                <td>42</td>
                <td>2010/12/22</td>
                <td>$92,575</td>
                <td>8822</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Jennifer</td>
                <td>Chang</td>
                <td>Regional Director</td>
                <td>Singapore</td>
                <td>28</td>
                <td>2010/11/14</td>
                <td>$357,650</td>
                <td>9239</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Brenden</td>
                <td>Wagner</td>
                <td>Software Engineer</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>28</td>
                <td>2011/06/07</td>
                <td>$206,850</td>
                <td>1314</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Fiona</td>
                <td>Green</td>
                <td>Chief Operating Officer (COO)</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>48</td>
                <td>2010/03/11</td>
                <td>$850,000</td>
                <td>2947</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Shou</td>
                <td>Itou</td>
                <td>Regional Marketing</td>
                <td>Tokyo</td>
                <td>20</td>
                <td>2011/08/14</td>
                <td>$163,000</td>
                <td>8899</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Michelle</td>
                <td>House</td>
                <td>Integration Specialist</td>
                <td>Sidney</td>
                <td>37</td>
                <td>2011/06/02</td>
                <td>$95,400</td>
                <td>2769</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Suki</td>
                <td>Burks</td>
                <td>Developer</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>53</td>
                <td>2009/10/22</td>
                <td>$114,500</td>
                <td>6832</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Prescott</td>
                <td>Bartlett</td>
                <td>Technical Author</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>27</td>
                <td>2011/05/07</td>
                <td>$145,000</td>
                <td>3606</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Gavin</td>
                <td>Cortez</td>
                <td>Team Leader</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>22</td>
                <td>2008/10/26</td>
                <td>$235,500</td>
                <td>2860</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Martena</td>
                <td>Mccray</td>
                <td>Post-Sales support</td>
                <td>Edinburgh</td>
                <td>46</td>
                <td>2011/03/09</td>
                <td>$324,050</td>
                <td>8240</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Unity</td>
                <td>Butler</td>
                <td>Marketing Designer</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>47</td>
                <td>2009/12/09</td>
                <td>$85,675</td>
                <td>5384</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Howard</td>
                <td>Hatfield</td>
                <td>Office Manager</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>51</td>
                <td>2008/12/16</td>
                <td>$164,500</td>
                <td>7031</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Hope</td>
                <td>Fuentes</td>
                <td>Secretary</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>41</td>
                <td>2010/02/12</td>
                <td>$109,850</td>
                <td>6318</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Vivian</td>
                <td>Harrell</td>
                <td>Financial Controller</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>62</td>
                <td>2009/02/14</td>
                <td>$452,500</td>
                <td>9422</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Timothy</td>
                <td>Mooney</td>
                <td>Office Manager</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>37</td>
                <td>2008/12/11</td>
                <td>$136,200</td>
                <td>7580</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Jackson</td>
                <td>Bradshaw</td>
                <td>Director</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>65</td>
                <td>2008/09/26</td>
                <td>$645,750</td>
                <td>1042</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Olivia</td>
                <td>Liang</td>
                <td>Support Engineer</td>
                <td>Singapore</td>
                <td>64</td>
                <td>2011/02/03</td>
                <td>$234,500</td>
                <td>2120</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Bruno</td>
                <td>Nash</td>
                <td>Software Engineer</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>38</td>
                <td>2011/05/03</td>
                <td>$163,500</td>
                <td>6222</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Sakura</td>
                <td>Yamamoto</td>
                <td>Support Engineer</td>
                <td>Tokyo</td>
                <td>37</td>
                <td>2009/08/19</td>
                <td>$139,575</td>
                <td>9383</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Thor</td>
                <td>Walton</td>
                <td>Developer</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>61</td>
                <td>2013/08/11</td>
                <td>$98,540</td>
                <td>8327</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Finn</td>
                <td>Camacho</td>
                <td>Support Engineer</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>47</td>
                <td>2009/07/07</td>
                <td>$87,500</td>
                <td>2927</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Serge</td>
                <td>Baldwin</td>
                <td>Data Coordinator</td>
                <td>Singapore</td>
                <td>64</td>
                <td>2012/04/09</td>
                <td>$138,575</td>
                <td>8352</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Zenaida</td>
                <td>Frank</td>
                <td>Software Engineer</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>63</td>
                <td>2010/01/04</td>
                <td>$125,250</td>
                <td>7439</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Zorita</td>
                <td>Serrano</td>
                <td>Software Engineer</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>56</td>
                <td>2012/06/01</td>
                <td>$115,000</td>
                <td>4389</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Jennifer</td>
                <td>Acosta</td>
                <td>Junior Javascript Developer</td>
                <td>Edinburgh</td>
                <td>43</td>
                <td>2013/02/01</td>
                <td>$75,650</td>
                <td>3431</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Cara</td>
                <td>Stevens</td>
                <td>Sales Assistant</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>46</td>
                <td>2011/12/06</td>
                <td>$145,600</td>
                <td>3990</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Hermione</td>
                <td>Butler</td>
                <td>Regional Director</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>47</td>
                <td>2011/03/21</td>
                <td>$356,250</td>
                <td>1016</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Lael</td>
                <td>Greer</td>
                <td>Systems Administrator</td>
                <td>London</td>
                <td>21</td>
                <td>2009/02/27</td>
                <td>$103,500</td>
                <td>6733</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Jonas</td>
                <td>Alexander</td>
                <td>Developer</td>
                <td>San Francisco</td>
                <td>30</td>
                <td>2010/07/14</td>
                <td>$86,500</td>
                <td>8196</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Shad</td>
                <td>Decker</td>
                <td>Regional Director</td>
                <td>Edinburgh</td>
                <td>51</td>
                <td>2008/11/13</td>
                <td>$183,000</td>
                <td>6373</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Michael</td>
                <td>Bruce</td>
                <td>Javascript Developer</td>
                <td>Singapore</td>
                <td>29</td>
                <td>2011/06/27</td>
                <td>$183,000</td>
                <td>5384</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Donna</td>
                <td>Snider</td>
                <td>Customer Support</td>
                <td>New York</td>
                <td>27</td>
                <td>2011/01/25</td>
                <td>$112,000</td>
                <td>4226</td>
                <td>[e-mail]</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>