Frames are a necessary evil. They fall under the heading "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." On occasion, there are very legitimate reasons to use frames that add to enormously to the functionality of a Web site. However, the vast majority of times, frames are used when they are not necessary, and often they are more annoying or distracting than helpful.

Some drawbacks of using frames:

• On low-resolution monitors (640x480) they can take up a fair chunk of space, when you don't have much space to spare. (Forces user to scroll more.)
• They can be frustrating to a novice user
• Not accessible to browsers older than Netscape 2.0
• Difficult to print and bookmark
• Backtracking is a hassle
• Slower by nature because multiple pages are loading

Advantages of using Frames:

• Enhanced navigation (fewer clicks to destination)
• "Ooh Ahh" factor
• Allow presentation of other pages or sites within the context of your own site

Proceed at your own discretion.

Frames are essentially several Web pages presented on one browser screen, in an orientation determined by an addition Web page which you don't see, called the Frameset. The frameset page joins together the other pages that will make up the browser screen, and tells the browser how to divide the screen, and which page goes where.

When you link to a frames page, you need to link to the frameset, not the individual pages.

To create a frameset:

1. Click File à New….
2. Click the Frames tab at the top of the screen
3. Choose a layout you like (you will see it previewed on the right side)
4. Click OK.

The frameset appears in the editor and for each region, you have the option of selecting an existing page or creating a new page to fill it.

Each region also has a Help button. The online help for frames is very thorough, so don't hesitate to check it out if you get stuck.

Notice that when you click in each region, it lights up -- a blue border appears around it so you know which region you are currently working in. Notice that if you click on a divider line, the entire page lights up. This indicates that the frameset is active, rather than a region-page.

The editor treats each region like a separate Web page, and when you tell it to save, you will be asked for a file name for each region, plus one for the frameset.

For each frame region, you can right-click to access the Page Properties or the Frame Properties. The Page Properties are exactly the same as if you were working with a single page.

The Frame properties determine whether your frame sizes will be adjustable in the browser, whether the borders are visible, and the border width.

The options under "Style…" are only supported under the latest version of MSIE at this time.

When you create a link within a frame region, you will have to specify a target frame for the link. This determines which region the new page will load into. The default is the largest available region, usually called Main. When you open the "Create Hyperlink" screen, you will see the "Target Frame" section at the lower right. You can choose from a drop down list, or click the icon next to the list to graphically choose a target frame.

Caution: be careful when specifying frame sizes that you do not exceed a combined width greater than the expected width of your audience's browser. As with tables, it is better to let the frames adjust to the size of the browser rather than specify an exact pixel width. This is especially true because if the sizes are out of range of the browser window, and you have scroll bars turned off, the page could be rendered useless to your users because they have no way to move see the sections of the page that didn't fit on their screen.

The moral of the story is it's easy to design Bad Frames. You have to be careful. And it is essential to test your pages under a variety of conditions -- different resolutions and browsers.

It is also essential to provide an alternate way to navigate your site besides frames, and make it easy for users to switch out of frames if they desire.

Kate Akers, kate@oseda.missouri.edu Webmaster, University Outreach and Extension Last modified: 08/27/02