If even the most basic HTML guides assume you know things you've never heard of, this is where you should start.

I have a list of companies that would like to host your website. Please Visit that list. Thanks.


introduction
very basic information
what is important, and what doesn't matter
the basic page
HEAD and BODY
HTML Tags
META Tags
backgrounds - colors
backgrounds - images
pictures
links
pictures as links
email links
tables part 1
tables part 2
lining things up
frames part 1
frames part 2
frames part 3
what tools to use
putting it all together
making search engines love you
viewing your page as you work
making your page pay for itself
page counters
resources
how do they do that?
being sure it's right before you go public
my links
my sponsors
What NOT to do

Frames part 3

CAUTION - Be sure you know what you are doing when you use frames. There are many ways to go wrong.

TARGETS

So now you have your framed pages looking just the way you want them. As long as all you have in your framed pages is text and pictures, everything is easy. The confusion comes in when you want to make links. Normally, when you have a link on a page, and click on it, the new page replaces the one you found the link on. That usually isn't what you want to do with frames, though. Usually, you want to click a link on one frame, and have the new page appear in a different frame. The commonest use is the listing at the left that changes the contents of the frame on the right.

If ALL the links in a given frame are intended to cause a page to appear in the same place, as is frequently the case, you can put a tag in the HEAD section of the page that will direct all links to a certain place. For example: If all links in left.html are to open pages in right.html (or rather, where right.html originally was), you would put the following in the HEAD section in left.html:

<BASE TARGET="right">

Remember when we made the frameset page, we named the right side frame:
<FRAME SRC=right.html  NAME="right"> - The purpose of the NAME="right" was so you could direct links to open in that frame.

If you don't define <BASE TARGET> it will default to itself. So any link you click on in that frame will open a page in the same frame, replacing the one with the link you clicked.

Once you have defined <BASE TARGET> for every framed page, you have to give special treatment to those links that AREN'T intended to open their pages in the usual place.

For example: If your left side had many links to things that you want to display in the right side, but a few that you want to leave your page entirely, and have a regular non-framed page, in the link to the outside page you would include the following: target="_TOP" - notice the underscore before the word top. That must be included, and it must all be enclosed in quotation marks. "_TOP" is an instruction to the browser program that it should be the "top" (meaning covering everything else) page showing. If you have a section of your frames called "top" that's OK, just call it top, and the other "_TOP" and the browser will know the difference.

I have a feeling that previous paragraph was confusing. Trying again: To have your link escape the frames, follow this example:

<A HREF="http://www.someplace.com/ target="_TOP">CLICK HERE<A/>.
Once you have all your links properly directed, you'd think you were finished. Not so fast. If you have links that cause new pages to come into your frame, you have to be sure all the links in those new pages are directed properly too.
Ok, when you get that done, what else could possibly go wrong?

Here's one thing: Your pages, that you made with the idea of them being part of a framed page, and not ever standing alone, are going to get away. You can't stop them. Search engines may index them, people may link to them. So, in addition to being prepared to make links properly as part of a framed page, they must also behave properly if they stand alone as individual pages. Test them, click on all the links and see what happens.

As you should see by now, frames are not as simple as they seem on the surface. If you are not sure what you're doing, maybe you should find a different way to do your site. If you're ready to work at it, and test it, go ahead, and good luck.




I have a list of companies that would like to host your website. Please Visit that list. Thanks.




BuyACar     Get paid to express your opinion    Free stuff    Accept credit cards on your website    Website hosts    HTML for beginners    Advertising on your website     Privacy statement