html - how to vertically align elements in td tag

Question

I want to align 3 elements in my <td> tag vertically in the center/middle. These are the elements that I want to align:

1. image button (a tag) top arrow image
2. jquery slider
3. image button (a tag) bottom arrow image

Essentially the elements are there for vertically scrolling of a chart. They are a bit misaligned. I want them all to be in center.

My current code is:

<td style="vertical-align:top;">                
  <div id="div1" style="display:inline-block; horizontal-align:center; margin-top:5px;">
    <a id="a_top" title="Top" class="ui-icon ui-icon-circle-triangle-n" style="border:0px;"></a>
  </div>
  <div id="slider_y" style="height:240px; width:6px; horizontal-align:center; margin-top:10px; "></div>
  <div id="div2" style="display:inline-block;horizontal-align:center;margin-top:10px;">
    <a id="a_bottom" title="Bottom" class="ui-icon ui-icon-circle-triangle-s" style="border:0px;"></a>
  </div>
</td>

I am open to removing div tag related to image buttons, but td tag should stay there.

Answer 1

Read about vertical-align in table cells here

vertical-align:middle
vertical-align:top
vertical-align:bottom

http://phrogz.net/css/vertical-align/