Introduction
to HTML (Tables and Frames)
By Virtual Mechanics |
Some of the more advanced
features of today's HTML pages include Dynamic HTML and CSS
capabilities that I have briefly discussed in past issues. Other
advanced capabilities include Frames, Tables, Forms and Scripts.
Each of these topics could have (and do have) entire books devoted
to them. This week I will briefly discuss
Frames and Tables so that you will at least be able to recognize
the code and refer to more extensive help if you wish.
Tables are used to collect images and text together into a series
of cells that can be organized horizontally and vertically.
A typical use for a table would be a monthly calendar. I posted
a list of special HTML characters in a table several issues
ago at is3fig1.
Take a look at the source for an example of many of the options
that can be used when constructing a table.
Here is a simple Table example:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>A Simple Table</a>
<TR>
<TD>Box 11</TD>
<TD>Box 12</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD>Box 21</TD>
<TD>Box 22</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
is10fig1
This example adds text to each of four cells over two rows.
The TABLE tag is used to delimit the operation. You can also
use this tag to assign a border, border style and cell spacing
to the table cells. The <TR> tag is used to create a new
row of table information while the <TD> tag is used to enter
data into a table cell. You can also
assign a background color with the TD tag.
Almost any valid HTML can be placed into a Table. Instead of
text you can use the image tag as discussed last week to add
pictures to the cells and the anchor tag to add links. If you
wish, you can even add other tables to a cell to create a table
within a table. Table cells do not need to be evenly divided
between rows and columns. The
<ROWSPAN> and <COLSPAN> tags can be used to create
more complex table layout schemes.
Is10fig2
illustrates some of these more advanced table features.
Instead of HTML elements placed into cells, Frames are used
to display entire HTML pages within rectangular regions of a
browser. If you have ever looked at the source for a relatively
complex web page only to discover that there is hardly any code,
chances are the page was constructed using Frames.
Frames are actually quite easy to set up. Simply create the
pages you wish to display together the way you would normally
create them. You can then create a master page with the Frame
tag to display these pages together. An example for a frame
page is:
<HTML>
<TITLE>A Simple Frame Page</TITLE>
<FRAMESET cols="20%,80%">
<FRAME src="is10left.htm">
<FRAME src="is10right.htm">
</FRAMESEt>
</HTML>
is10fig3
In this very simple example, a Frame page is constructed to
display two other pages. The page "left.htm" is displayed in
a frame that occupies the first 20% of the left side of the
screen while the page "right.htm" will be displayed in the remaining
80% of the screen to the right. These frame pages can be as
simple or as complex as you wish and can be viewed independently.
The two pages that make up the frame page above can be viewed
separately at is10left
and is10right
A page can be composed of as many horizontal and vertical frames
as you wish. Take a look at is10fig4
for an
example of a far too complex use of frames. If you look at the
source you will see that there are many additional attributes
you can add to your frames including borders and scroll bars.
Next week I shall conclude this series on basic HTML with a
brief discussion on Scripts and Forms.
Source: "IMS Web Tips" is a weekly news letter for
all web site managers regardless of experience who are looking
for detailed information on creating, maintaining and promoting
their web sites.
To subscribe send an email to join.imswebtips@list.imswebtips.com
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