webdesign: tables vs. frames?

I think the only way to do what you are asking with tables would be to turn on and off different layers. I would stick to the frames if I was you.

I f you want to use a different page for each link without frames, just make copies of the original, and change what info you need to. Or make a template.

I use dreamweaver since it was here first. I'm too tired to talk about different screen resolutions, browsers, systems, etc. But yeah I would try to stay small.

 

I used tables for my site. As I understand it, frames can cause considerable difficulty for some viewers. The easiest way to avoid having to make copies of the contents like the navigation bar is to first make a template page and then just change out the content and save it as a different page.

You can see an example of how this looks at www.Artisancakes.com

I don't know the answer to the second part of your question. I recently updated my site and some viewers are seeing the page differently. I believe there is some code you can use so if anyone knows what that is PLEASE let me know.

 

When we redid our site, the Flash frame was 740 x 410 to try to be visible in all browsers. The old version of the site which I built was all tables. Now I am taking a crash course learning xml to keep the new design up.

 

I believe the new thing is to use a tableless design, and use div tags and CSS style sheets. The only snag is older browers might not be able to render them properly.

Here is a site with some samples. This particular one allows for a three column "fluid" (where you can resize) layout with css.
http://www.saila.com/usage/layouts/

 

I don't think I've EVER clicked on the "frames" version of a site when a frames vs. no frames option was avaialable...

 

Frames are the devil. I would avoid them like the plague.

To make the table shrink and grow according the screen size use percentage when specifying the width of the table and its columns. If you just want to make sure everybody can see it keep the width of the page around 750 since most people will have at least 800 x 600 resolution.

Mrs. Valdez:
What are they seeing different? The only thing I saw was the contact line at the bottom was partially blocked by the background image on the Selected Menu page, which you could fix just by adding extra lines before it.

 

jamma34,

If you have access to the server config files, I would modify the SSI directives to accept *.html extensions, or just use *.shtml extensions and then you can make a header and footer and menu file, and include it in every file.

Making a template and just copying it over works for smaller sites, but if your site is going to have a good amount of pages, if you want to change something in the header, you'll have to go thru every page to modify the information. Having a header file independently requires just one change.

And NEVER use frames they SUCK

 

Not to butt in but if you were to create copies like this how could you make wholesale changes to the uniform structure of each page without going through each page to change it? What is required to make the change to one page (items on a nav bar for example) and have every other change change with it?

 

Have it set up like Rockit suggested so you can use include files. If you can use a server side language like asp or php they can do it also. You would just have a file named menu.asp or menu.php that you include in every page. Change that one file and all the others are updated.

Another way is to use a globabl search and replace, tools like dreamweaver are able to do that. You can use TextEdit, which is shareware, if you don't have soemthing that can do globab search and replaces now. Just make sure you have a backup in case it screws something up.

 

Thanks, I'm really a novice when it comes to this stuff though and this is for a hobby site that's just grown way larger than I ever thought it would. Do you know of anywhere online where I can get detailed instructions on how to do this? I've looked around but have come up empty.

 

Maybe something like this:

<a HREF="http://www.within-reason.com/tutorial/shtml.html">SHTML Tutorial</a>

 

To do what ... the global replace or the PHP/ASP bit?

If the latter, what server are you running on? Lemme know and I can help you change the config file and also how to do the include bit.

 

What I need to do is have the ability to change headers, footers, and my side menu panel on all my pages by changing one page. How to do it or which method doesn't matter really. Whichever would be easiest I suppose. I already have all my pages done so I have to go back and rebuild my site with that ability to change headers, footers, and the side menu in the future.


Edit: I also need the ability to integrate a banner manager written in ASP to run in SQL server. The ability to make the changes easily is the most important thing though. This is secondary.

 

Ok, since you're talking about ASP and SQL Server, I'm assuming the rest of your site is also running on IIS.

The easiest way to do this would be to change all your page extensions to .asp. Then, save the menu, header and footer sections as separate files, and replace those sections in all your files with this:

< ! -- #include virtual | file ="filename" -- > (no spaces before the #include and after ending " for filename.

The virtual keyword is used to give a virtual path to the page you're trying to include. The file keyword is for specifiying the path relative to where your current page resides.
This page has a good explanation on how to go about doing this. The "filename" portion is obvious, obviously

Save all your files, and VOILA! you're done!!! You can send me an email if it craps out.

Hope this helps

 

Thanks man, I appreciate your help. I'm gonna play around with that and try to get it down.

 

Thanks Mango, that actually might be the easiest way to go for now.

 

For now, it is the fastest & easiest way.........but moving to server scripting should be the ultimate goal.

Out of curiosity, what is the general purpose of your site?

News Publishing?
E-Commerce?
Education?
Polls & Voting?
Calendar?
Vertical Market?
etc