Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 UNLEASHED

Chapter 8. Working with Frames and Framesets

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Understanding Framed Websites

• Creating Frames and Framesets

• Adjusting Frame and Frameset Attributes

• Saving, Opening, and Closing Frames and Framesets

• Targeting Frames

• IFrames

• Targeting Browsers That Don't Support Frames

In the mid-1990s, Netscape introduced a proprietary HTML extension known as frames. The idea was that web pages of the time used up far too much memory and required excessive bandwidth to be viewed in a timespan that didn't bore the user. On top of that, Netscape hoped that framed sites could be viewed only in Netscape, further positioning its browser implementation as the standard of the time.

Designers fell right in line with the concept, using framed websites to present consistent unmoving navigation bars that remained static even when content in a separate frame was scrolled. Even better, users visiting sites using 14.4 Kbps or 28.8 Kbps modems enjoyed the fact that framed sites had an initial load time but ran much smoother and loaded quicker during the viewing experience.

Although frames definitely offer another page-structuring option for the web designer, disadvantages have emerged. This chapter aims at demystifying framed sites, discussing the advantages, disadvantages, and even how to build them in Dreamweaver.