Frames

Article Table of contents

Introduction to Frames

You can display multiple HTML pages in different areas at once. These areas are called frames.

Frames are not found in the specifications of HTML 3.x, so the Document Type Declaration must show the page as having been written in HTML 4.0.

Creating Frames

To create a website containing frames, create a frame layout file. This HTML file is special in that it uses the <FRAMESET> tag instead of the <BODY> tag. <FRAMESET> is the tag which defines frame sizes by their dimensions, in pixels or as a percentage (%).

Here are three examples:

2 vertical frames
2 horizontal frames
1 vertical and 2 horizontal frames

Example #1

<FRAMESET COLS="20%,
80%">

<FRAME SRC="frame1.htm" NAME="left">

<FRAME SRC="frame2.htm" NAME="right">

</FRAMESET>

Example #2

<FRAMESET ROWS="20%,
80%">


<FRAME SRC="frame1.htm" NAME="left">


<FRAME SRC="frame2.htm" NAME="right">


</FRAMESET>

Example #3

<FRAMESET COLS="20%,
80%"> 

<FRAME SRC="frame1.htm" NAME="left">

<FRAMESET ROWS="50%, 50%">

<FRAME SRC="frame2.htm"
	  NAME="upper_right">

<FRAME SRC="frame3.htm"
	  NAME="lower_right">

</FRAMESET>

Attributes of the <FRAMESET> Tag

Attribute	Value	Action
Rows	percentage (between 1 and 100) value in pixels By setting only one of the values and giving the other the value *, the value adjusts automatically.	Horizontal frame
Cols	percentage in pixels By setting only one of the values and giving the other the value *, the value adjusts automatically.	Vertical frame
Frameborder	YES NO	Indicates whether or not the frame has a border
Border=n	n is a value which defines the size of the border	Indicates the size of the border
BorderColor	Name of the colour Hexadecimal value of the colour	Indicates the border's colour
Framespacing=n	n is a value which defines the space between the frames	Indicates the space between the frames

Attributes of the <FRAMESET> Tag

The <FRAME> tag is used to define one or several frames within the <FRAMESET> tag

Attribute	Value	Action
Src	URL	Defines where in the page to display the frame
NAME	"Name"	Defines a name which will allow another document to be displayed in the frame, using the Target attribute
Marginwidth=n	n is an integer specifying the number of pixels	Size of side margins
Marginheight=n	n is an integer specifying the number of pixels	Size of top and bottom margins
Frameborder	YES NO	Determining whether or not the frames will have a border
Border=n	n is an integer specifying the number of pixels	Size of the space between the frames (for Netscape only)
Noresize	(None)	Forbids the user from resizing the frames (Not the default value)
Scrolling	YES NO AUTO	Enables or disables the scrollbar (Auto lets the browser decide if it's needed)

How can you avoid errors arising from non-compatible browsers?

The <NOFRAMES> and </NOFRAMES> tags are used to specify which HTML text to display if the browser does not have frames enabled. The text between the <NOFRAMES> and </NOFRAMES> tags must therefore contain the <BODY> ... </BODY> tags.

Example:

<FRAMESET COLS="20%,
80%">

<FRAME SRC="frame1.htm" NAME="left">

<FRAME SRC="frame2.htm" NAME="right">

</FRAMESET>

<NOFRAMES>
<BODY>
This HTML requires a browser that supports frames.
We apologise for the inconvenience.
</BODY>
</NOFRAMES>

Designating a frame with a hyperlink

To display links in one or more frames, use the TARGET attribute in the <A HREF ..> tag to specify the name of the frame (as given by the NAME attribute in the <FRAME> tag) in which the link's target will be shown.

For example:

<A HREF="page.htm" TARGET="left">

Value	Action
_self	Displays the target in the same frame as the link
_parent	Displays the target in the next-highest-level frame
_blank	Displays the target in a new window
_top	Displays the target in the whole browser window