Preamble

Although DataTables doesn't have row grouping built-in (picking one of the many methods available would overly limit the plug-in it was felt), it is most certainly possible to give the look and feel of row grouping. In the example below the 'group' is the browser engine, which is based on the information in the first column (set to hidden). The grouping indicator is added by the fnDrawCallback function, which will parse through the rows which are displayed, and enter a TR element where a new group is found.

Live example

Initialisation code

$(document).ready(function() {
	oTable = $('#example').dataTable({
		"fnDrawCallback": function ( oSettings ) {
			if ( oSettings.aiDisplay.length == 0 )
			{
				return;
			}
			
			var nTrs = $('#example tbody tr');
			var iColspan = nTrs[0].getElementsByTagName('td').length;
			var sLastGroup = "";
			for ( var i=0 ; i<nTrs.length ; i++ )
			{
				var iDisplayIndex = oSettings._iDisplayStart + i;
				var sGroup = oSettings.aoData[ oSettings.aiDisplay[iDisplayIndex] ]._aData[0];
				if ( sGroup != sLastGroup )
				{
					var nGroup = document.createElement( 'tr' );
					var nCell = document.createElement( 'td' );
					nCell.colSpan = iColspan;
					nCell.className = "group";
					nCell.innerHTML = sGroup;
					nGroup.appendChild( nCell );
					nTrs[i].parentNode.insertBefore( nGroup, nTrs[i] );
					sLastGroup = sGroup;
				}
			}
		},
		"aoColumnDefs": [
			{ "bVisible": false, "aTargets": [ 0 ] }
		],
		"aaSortingFixed": [[ 0, 'asc' ]],
		"aaSorting": [[ 1, 'asc' ]],
		"sDom": 'lfr<"giveHeight"t>ip'
	});
} );

Other examples

Basic initialisation

• Zero configuration
• Feature enablement
• Sorting data
• Multi-column sorting
• Multiple tables
• Hidden columns
• DOM positioning
• State saving
• Alternative pagination styles
• Scrolling: Horizontal / Vertical / Both / Themed
• Change language information (internationalisation)
• ThemeRoller themes (Smoothness)

Advanced initialisation

• Events (pre initialisation)
• Events (post initialisation)
• Column rendering
• Sorting without HTML tags
• Multiple table controls (sDom)
• Defining length menu options
• Custom toolbar (element) around table
• Row highlighting with CSS
• Column grouping through col/row spans
• Row grouping
• Row callback
• Footer callback
• Change language information from a file (internationalisation)

Data sources

• DOM
• Javascript array
• Ajax source
• Server side processing

Server-side processing

• Obtain server-side data
• Add extra HTTP variables
• Use HTTP POST
• Custom column ordering (in callback data)
• Pipelining data (reduce Ajax calls for paging)
• Show and hide details about a particular record
• User selectable rows (multiple rows)

API

• Dynamically add a new row
• Individual column filtering (using "input" elements)
• Individual column filtering (using "select" elements)
• Highlight rows and columns
• Show and hide details about a particular record
• User selectable rows (multiple rows)
• User selectable rows (single row) and delete rows
• Editable rows (with jEditable)
• Submit form with elements in table
• Index column (static number column)
• Show and hide columns dynamically
• API function use in initialisation object (callback)
• DataTables scrolling and tabs
• Regular expression filtering

Plug-ins

• Add custom API functions
• Sorting and type detection
• Custom pagination controls
• Range filtering / custom filtering
• Live DOM sorting
• Automatic HTML type detection

Please refer to the DataTables documentation for full information about its API properties and methods.