html in a cell (Wow, I can rhyme!)

[Timeo27]

Ok, so if you've gotten past my painfully sad thread title, I've got a question to ask. I'm one of those kind of people who can make a decent webpage, but never go above what they need to know at the moment, in terms of coding html or javascript, etc.

Anyway, I've got a webpage set up with tables, instead of frames, which is the clearest way I can state it. One of the cells serves as a navbar of sorts, while another one is kind of the main page area.

So right now, the way I have it set up, each page consists of a table like this, but the navbar area is duplicated on all these pages. So now to the actual question. Is there any way for me to make the buttons in the navbar (that open entirely new pages as of now) simply load different html files in the main page area? So, essentially, it's just frames only with cells acting like frames, if that's even possible.

And I know how lots of people think frames are easier, and there's no reason not to do it with frames, etc. but I've got my reasons for not doing it that way.

 

[Kw4ntuM]

here....
try this(a compromise) go with Iframes =]

they r like, targetable cells

 

[Timeo27]

Hey, thanks for the suggestion. I remember now having heard about iframes awhile ago, but I forgot to look into them.

Going to try it out tonight.

 

[Khayman]

I think, I understand what you are trying to do
and i'm pretty sure that the answer is no, you can't load part of a page without affecting the rest of it (without using frames or iframes).


Althoght saying that, there may be a way in javascript. I have a page where i dynamicly chnage the content of a cell.


what is your web page, i'll have a look

 

[Timeo27]

http://timeo.150m.com

The navbar is a premade dhtml menu thing, but the links can be easily changed. And if the content makes you wonder about my sanity, don't, it's all old stuff or stuff that I never really intended for a webpage. I'm just kind of testing things out and wanted some extra pages.

One of the reasons that I was trying to avoid frames is that I would either end up with a banner ad or popup for each seperate frame with this host, although pretty much every other host I've used is like that.

I looked into iframes a little but there are a few compatibility/browser things I'm still a little worried about.

 

[scriptasylum]

Well... there IS a way, but it's a bit complex if you're a beginner. You could put all your links in a javascript array and use javascript to "write" out the code in each page in a javascript (.js) file. You just insert the code that calls the javascript file where you want the links to appear. This way, you only have to update one file.

Its a compromise between the convenience of frames without using them. I really don't know why some people do not like frames; I think they are fine as long as they are designed properly.

I do this in my site for that exact reason. I hate having to update every page if I decide to add or change something even though I don't really have that many pages.

 

[Timeo27]

Well, scriptasylum, I'm not exactly a beginner, I just try to cut corners and do things the easiest way possible. And it's not that I don't like frames, its the advertisement problem I mentioned.

I might as well try what you described though, as I think that I might be able to manage it and I've got nothing to lose. It sounds better than iframes.

 

[Zedric]

The popups can be a b*tch, I know. Putting each page on it's own layer and showing/hiding them in the appropriate order is one idea. But I believe it's bad design to be honest. I rather see a page where you get the popups (annoying as they may be). Can't you just get a better web hotel? Without popups?