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Frames |
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What Are Frames?
Frames divide a web page into sections that each have a different
HTML source page and their own set of scroll bars. They can be
useful for any site that requires part of the screen to remain
static while the remainder of the screen can be scrolled. One
example is site navigation where links can be placed in one frame
and the scrolling page content is placed in another. There are
several disadvantages to using frames including slower download time
and problems with linking and printing so be sure to use them only
if necessary.
As an example, the Web Boards used for many courses at FGCU use
frames. The black navigation bar, Conferences list, and main content
frame are the three independent frames, each having their own HTML
source page.
Frames pages actually consist of several HTML pages and the exact
number depends on the number of frames on the page. The main page is
called the parent page. This web page contains the
instructions for the format and location of the frames, and a link
to the initial loading page for each frame, but does not include the
actual text or graphics that appear on the page. Each frame then has
its own HTML source page that contains the text and graphics for
that frame. Therefore, the WebBoard page displayed above actually
consists of four pages: the parent and three frame source pages. You
will need to keep this structure in mind when you save a frames page
as FrontPage will prompt you to save each of these pages.
Create a Frames Page
Create a frames page by following these steps:
- Select File|New|Page from the menu bar and click the
Frames Pages tab.
- Preview each of the choices by clicking on an icon once with
the mouse and seeing the Preview window. Select the icon of
the frames format you would like to use and click OK.
- When viewed in Page view, the web page will be divided
into frames and each frame will have "Set Initial Page..." and
"New Page" buttons. Click New Page if the source page for
the frame does not yet exist. The frame will immediately turn
white after the button is clicked and you will be able to type and
add graphics just like a normal web page. Click Set Initial
Page if the source page for the frame has already been created
and select the file from the dialog box.
- Save the frames pages by selecting Files|Save As from
the menu bar. You will be prompted to save the main frame page
first followed by each of the frame source pages. The diagram will
highlight the page you are saving. Below, the diagram highlights
all of the frames in blue, indicating that the main frame page is
being saved:
In the image below, the source of the top frame is
being saved:
Frame Properties
Right-click on a frame either before or after its content page
has been identified and select Frame Properties from the
shortcut menu.
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Name Assign a name to each
frame for linking purposes.
Initial Page Assign the
initial HTML source page.
Frame size Designate the
width and height of the frame in absolute pixels or as a
percentage of the screen.
Options Check "Resizeable in
Browser" if the user should be able to click and drag the
frame borders to resize them. Make a selection from "Show
scroll bars" if scroll bars should be visible in the
frame. |
Linking in Frames
When creating a link from a frames page, click the pencil button
next to the Target frame option on the Create
Hyperlink dialog box. Select the proper target for the link from
the Common targets box.
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Page Default will load the page
in the default frame indicated in parentheses.
Same Frame will load the new
page in the same frame.
New Window will open a new
browser window.
Parent Window will load the page
in the current window. |
No Frames Page
Early versions of browsers do not support, so it is necessary to
prepare a page for visitors using these browsers. Build the "No
Frames" page from the tab at the bottom of the screen. Use this page
to link to individual main frame source pages in your site or
provide links to download sites for the latest versions of Netscape
Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
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