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Sometimes you are looking at a webpage and you notice that you can click on links and only part of the page changes. The part with the links stays the same, doesn't even refresh. Also, the url in the address bar never changes, even when you think you've gone to a different page. That's when you know frames are being used.
Click here for a stripped down example - I've left the frame borders in to make it very obvious what's happening.
So, should you use frames? There are differing views:
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Yes
- You only make your navigation system once. You may also have another frame that doesn't change, maybe at the bottom, with unchanging general information about your site. Saves work.
- The whole page doesn't reload for every link so the refresh effect is less obvious. Maybe it looks better that way.
- You might have more than one frameset, it's easy to keep your site organised into sections.
- It's a wee bit harder for people to see the code on your inner pages, although a lot of people know how to do that.
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No
- It's old fashioned. True. How much do you care?
- Search engines don't like them. True, there isn't enough information on the frameset page itself except .... if you follow my instructions to get round that. Or have an index page that doesn't use frames, then get into them later in your site.
- It's hard to bookmark inner pages. True. Does this matter to you?
- It's difficult to set up. It is a bit tricky - that's why we have tutorial sites (and manuals and how-to books, of course).
- People might wander in to one of your inner pages and be lost. All your pages are likely to be indexed by search engines eventually. Then this can happen - I'm showing you a problem, so I'm opening this in a new window. When you've got the point, just close the new window via the little box top left hand corner of your browser, you'll get back safe, I promise. Click here (it will make more sense if you've checked out the earlier link).
How did I do that, open the page in a separate browser window? When I made the link, I chose _blank from the target drop-down just by the link box in the inspector.
But you see how people could get confused if they arrived at that page? There is a way round it, thanks Dave, we'll get to it later.
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Soooo.....
if you still want to go ahead, and I do think frames can be very useful, please read on.
By the way, have you ever had trouble, you're making a bullet list like that one just above, now you want a normal paragraph, but every time you hit return you get a new bullet point? Do it anyway, then select the new paragraph and go Type > List > Decrease List Level. Not much logic to it, but that's how it's done.
Onward ....
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