Not as you describe, but it sounds like you want something similar to the hidden row example provided by datatables.
This example shows a way to provide additional information by showing and hiding the additional information. The example page also provides a nice demo, but the relevant code from the example is posted below.
var oTable;
/* Formating function for row details */
function fnFormatDetails ( nTr )
{
var aData = oTable.fnGetData( nTr );
var sOut = '<table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="padding-left:50px;">';
sOut += '<tr><td>Rendering engine:</td><td>'+aData[2]+' '+aData[5]+'</td></tr>';
sOut += '<tr><td>Link to source:</td><td>Could provide a link here</td></tr>';
sOut += '<tr><td>Extra info:</td><td>And any further details here (images etc)</td></tr>';
sOut += '</table>';
return sOut;
}
$(document).ready(function() {
oTable = $('#example').dataTable( {
"bProcessing": true,
"bServerSide": true,
"sAjaxSource": "scripts/details_col.php",
"aoColumns": [
{ "sClass": "center", "bSortable": false },
null,
null,
null,
{ "sClass": "center" },
{ "sClass": "center" }
],
"aaSorting": [[1, 'asc']]
} );
$('#example tbody td img').live( 'click', function () {
var nTr = $(this).parents('tr')[0];
if ( oTable.fnIsOpen(nTr) )
{
/* This row is already open - close it */
this.src = "../examples_support/details_open.png";
oTable.fnClose( nTr );
}
else
{
/* Open this row */
this.src = "../examples_support/details_close.png";
oTable.fnOpen( nTr, fnFormatDetails(nTr), 'details' );
}
} );
} );