Using the Frames Panel


Using the Frames Panel

You've probably noticed by now that Dreamweaver has a panel for everything. Frames are no exception. If the Frames panel isn't visible, choose Window > Frames to bring it into view.

It's a good idea to keep the Frames panel in view when working with a framed site. It gives you a miniature view of the frames within a frameset. It also gives you an easy way to select either an individual frame or an entire frameset.

To select frames and framesets with the Frames panel:

1.
In the Frames panel, click the outermost border around the frameset ( Figure 11.7 ).

The selected frameset will display a thick black border.

Figure 11.7. A thick border indicates the selected frameset.


2.
Do one of the following:

  • To select a nested frameset, click the white border around the frameset ( Figure 11.8 ).

    Figure 11.8. The nested frameset in the bottom row is outlined with a thick border, indicating that it is selected.

    The selected frameset will display a thick black border.

    or

  • To select an individual frame, simply click inside the frame ( Figure 11.9 ).

    Figure 11.9. The black border indicates the selected frame. Note that the border for a frame is not quite as thick as the border for a frameset.

    The selected frame will display a thick black border.

Tips

  • When you select a frame in the Frames panel, the corresponding frame is selected in the document window. A dotted border highlights the selected frame in the document window. ( Figure 11.10 ) The tag selector displays the appropriate elementin this example it's <frame#topFrame> .

    Figure 11.10. In the document window, the selected topFrame is indicated by a dotted border.

  • When you select a frameset in the Frames panel, the corresponding frameset is selected in the document window. A dotted border highlights the frameset ( Figure 11.11 ). The Tag Selector displays the appropriate elementin this example, it's <frameset><frameset> .

    Figure 11.11. The dotted border indicates that the nested frameset in the bottom row is selected.


To adjust rows or columns of the frameset:

1.
Select the frameset in the Frames panel.

2.
Make adjustments with the Property Inspector ( Figure 11.12 ).

Figure 11.12. The Property Inspector shows a miniature frameset with rows when a frameset with rows is selected. Options to adjust the frameset are displayed.


The Property Inspector displays options for Border, Border width, and Border color . You can also set either the row height or column width, depending on which is selected. Enter in a value, and choose pixels, percentage, or relative units.

If the selected frameset contains rows, the rows are miniaturized on the Property Inspector. The selected row is indicated in a dark gray. Clicking a row in this miniature display on the Property Inspector selects it. Set the Row Value (that is, the height) for each row as needed.

If the selected frameset contains columns, the columns are miniaturized on the Property Inspector ( Figure 11.13 ). The selected column is indicated in a dark gray. Clicking a miniature column in this display on the Property Inspector selects it. Set the Column Value (that is, the width) for each column as needed.

Figure 11.13. The Property Inspector with a column frameset selected. You see a miniature frameset indicating which column your adjustments will affect.


Tips

  • Row height and column width can be set in exact units (pixels), as a percentage of the frameset, or as relative. If you choose relative, the row or column will take up whatever space is available. Relative rows and columns can shrink or grow, depending on the size of the browser window. Relative units are considered the most accessible.

  • As you work with frames, you'll see that Dreamweaver provides many visual cues, such as dotted borders around selected framesets in the document window and thick borders around selected framesets in the Frames panel. These visual cues are important to watch because it is easy to accidentally change something you don't intend to change in a complicated frameset if you don't pay attention to the selected element. They also help you make sure you have the right element selected when it comes time to save your work. Remember that these visual cues won't show up in the Web browser.

  • Selecting a frame or frameset in the Frames panel is not the same as placing an insertion point in a frame by clicking within a frame in the document window.


To adjust frame properties:

1.
Select the frame you want in the Frames panel.

2.
The Property Inspector displays properties for that frame ( Figure 11.14 ). Make changes in one or more of the properties:

  • Frame name gives a needed identifier to the frame (see the sidebar "Frame Name vs. Frame Title"). Each frame must have a name. If you create a custom frameset, you need to supply the name for the frameset yourself. (Dreamweaver supplies a default name for each frame in the preset framesets.) A name that helps you make sense of your layout such as leftFrame , navFrame , or menuFrame is what you want here. No spaces are allowed in the name .

  • Src is the URL of the page that will initially be displayed in the frameset. Setting this field is covered below in "Inserting Pages Into Frames."

  • Scroll options are No, Auto, and Default. No means that frame will not have a scrollbar ever, even if not all the contents of the frame are visible. Auto means a scrollbar will appear automatically if the contents of the frame are larger than the frame can display. Default is the browser's default, which is usually Auto. Scrollbars can be horizontal or vertical, depending on which is needed to see all the contents of a frame.

  • Normally a frame can be resized in the browser. Checking the No resize check box means that there will be no way to resize a frame in the browser. If you leave it unchecked, users can drag the frame borders in the browser window. This is useful for users who prefer to have especially small or especially large browser windows .

  • Margin width and Margin height refer to the margin surrounding an individual frame.

  • Borders , which can be set at the frameset level, can also be set individually for each frame.

  • Border color allows you to set the color for the frame borders. Click the color well to bring up a color picker to help you set the color.

Figure 11.14. With a frame selected, the Property Inspector displays options for adjusting and naming the frame.


Tips

  • If you click inside a frame in the document window, the Property Inspector displays the standard text properties for that frame's document. To change the properties of the frame itself, use the Frames panel to select the frame.

  • Monitor size and screen resolution can vary widely among users. Some users must enlarge the text with the browser controls in order to read it. It is a good idea to test your framed site with various browser configurations. Only testing will show you whether scrollbars or resizing are needed so that all your content is viewable.

  • Size issues can also lead to printing problems in some situations. You may need to provide special printer-friendly pages for a framed site.

  • One of the reasons that frames got such a bad reputation was due to the tacky look of sites after frame border colors were applied. If you're considering changing your framed site's border colors, please reconsider unless you've got a darned good reason.





Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 for Windows & Macintosh Visual QuickStart Guide
Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 for Windows & Macintosh
ISBN: 0321350278
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 239

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