Help with sidebar...

kjohnson · #1 30-01-2004, 10:46

Hello everyone. I've been work on our team's new website for a few weeks and just started loading pages up. I'm having a problem with my navigation bar on the sidebar. When you click on the link on the navbar, the next page opens up in the sidebar and the previous page stays in the large part of the screen. Does anyone know of a code to make a sidebar that won't do this? Check it out for yourself and tell me what you think. http://ircorp.fnsnet.net/index.htm I hope that link works, if not I'll add another one below. And the big black thing is supposed to be our logo - I'm working on fixing that right now.

jonathan lall · #2 30-01-2004, 11:38

Well the link is broken right now so I can't see the site, but I surmise that you are probably using frames and the side frame (let's call it sidebar since I don't know what it's actually called) is acting like a normal HTML page; links send that same page to whereever they point. I haven't used frames in a while, but, assuming the frameset file (the index) gives each frame an id or name attribute like this

Code:

   <frameset rows="400,200" cols="400,400">
   
   <frame src="sidebar.html" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" noresize="noresize" id="sidebar" />
   <frame src="main.html" frameborder="0" noresize="noresize" id="main" />
    <noframes>
   
     <body>
 	<p>This is a framed page, but your (pitiful) browser doesn't support frames, Get Mozilla!</p>
     </body>
   
    </noframes>
   </frameset>

you can make your links apply to another frame if you use the target attribute in each of your needed anchors of the sidebar file. Or you could use the <base> tag to define the default target of your links.

Code:

 <base target="main" />
  </head>
  <body>

Since the id of your main frame is so named in the frameset file, all you have to do is put it in a target attribute and this will cause all links in sidebar without a target attribute that says otherwise to point to the main frame.

kjohnson · #3 30-01-2004, 12:40

The link worked for me, but I'm using Internet Explorer 6, I don't know if it works on Netscape or any old versions of IE yet(if thats what you use), but I'm gonna check this afternoon when I can get to a computer with Netscape.
I don't really know much about frames either but the program I use does them for you. I'm just looking for a code where it makes the sidebar and you can control the width and what is in it, and be able to change the background color. I'm prob asking too much but somebody might know. I'll keep looking...

kjohnson · #4 30-01-2004, 12:45

I forgot something - the program that I'm using does the frames for me but those are the ones that won't link correctly. I'm looking for a code to add into the main page and have it make a sidebar but not mess up whats on the page...thats confusing but I'll figure it out eventually...

jonathan lall · #5 30-01-2004, 13:47

Well the link works now; your browser will make no difference with links (IE accepts backslashes and a few invalid URIs but for the most part it's all the same). I was getting a 404/DNS error before when I first posted, but now I can see it. The problem is that you are using a Flash menu and I don't know how to (actually it's probably impossible) to target links with Flash. I'm not sure how it handles links, but the <base target="main"> in your sidebar frame might still work. You should try.

If you are looking for an easy frame editor, I believe MS Frontpage 2003 came in your kit; it will certainly be able to visually (What You See is What You Get) change any aspect of your frames, including width and background colour. There are also free WYSIWYG editors all over the internet that allow you to edit pages as you would a Word document for example. I suggest Frontpage 2003 as it can produce cross-browser code fairly well.

I am assuming you want to use frames for some design reason right? If not, I would actually suggest you stray from them. I find they are usually more trouble than they are worth.

But these [1, 2, 3] might help you...

kjohnson · #6 30-01-2004, 14:43

Thanks - I'll check that stuff out - yeah I'm only using the sidebar for design - just to keep the buttons seperated from everything else. I'll probably end up just taking the sidebar off and adding the buttons into the main page if I can get them to stay on the side and everything else in the middle.

zeep25 · #7 30-01-2004, 14:45

well go back to

http://www.flashbuttons.com/basicFor...Name=DataProbe

where u made ur flash menu .. u c the third text coulum ... that says
Target Frame Name ( OPTIONAL ) :

write "main" in those for each link ... and use the first code that jonathan posted for the main page with two frames .. since the name of the window where u want the links open is main accordin to the code that jonathan ...

1 more thing .. whichever program ur using ... ur not using the rite way .. because each page u made it as a frame page with a menu and a content page ... if u can zip ur ur files and post them here i can help u organize and make the code smaller and less page for u ...

kjohnson · #8 30-01-2004, 15:07

Yeah I'll try the target thing too - I don't have time to work on it now - have to go work on the robot!

iBob · #9 30-01-2004, 16:00

Just a thought, try a two cell table and avoid frames all together.

kjohnson · #10 30-01-2004, 17:09

Yeah - I have thoughtabout the table after someone else said something about a table somewhere else. I'll have to try that when I get home - thanks to everybody that has helped!

kjohnson · #11 30-01-2004, 22:10

Thanks everyone - I'm using the two column table right now, but I'm still going to try to get the actual sidebar to work...Thanks again!

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