Understanding How Frames Work

Frames are a way of dividing a web page into distinct areas using differnet web pages. Each frame displays a separate htm document. One common use of a frame structure is to put links in the left frame that remain displayed is the right frame changes when the links are clicked on. Frames start with a Frame Set Page that loads and organizes the web pages that are part of the frame set. One important thing to remember about frames is that each frame of the set is identified by the NAME of the frame.

Below are the steps that can be used in Dreamweaver to create a frame and frame set.

1. Open Dreamweaver and create temporary pages that will match the number of frames that you plan to have. Put any temporary content in the pages and save them in your directory. You could name them something like left_frame.htm, right_frame.htm, main_frame.htm, etc.
   
   
2. Create another document in Dreamweaver. This will be your frameset document.
   
   
3. Make sure your Objects window is showing. In your Objects window click on the little arrow at the top and choose Frames choice. That converts your page into a frame set.
            
   
   
4. Once you have a frame set document, go to the Dreamweaver view that shows code and design together by clicking on the middle icon near the top left. Then click on the edge of the frameset to show the frameset code. (see below picture)
   
   
   
5. Now you should add the names of the files that will be loading into each individual frame. See above picture just below the black star.
   
   
   
6. To create a link from the left frame to the main frame, your target on the link should be the name of the frame where you want the page to load. See example below.