Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Specifying sizes

Frame size can be listed in one of three ways:

Absolute pixel values

The browser interprets an integer as an absolute pixel value. The frameset element <frameset cols="150,650"> creates two columns, one exactly 150 pixels wide and the other exactly 650 pixels wide. If the browser window is larger than the total specified pixels, it enlarges each frame proportionally to fill the window.

Percentages

Percentages are based on the total width of the frameset. The total should add up to 100%. The frameset element <frameset rows="25%,50%,25%"> creates three rows; the top and bottom frames each always occupy 25% of the height of the frameset, and the middle row makes up 50%, regardless of how the browser window is resized.

Relative values

Relative values, indicated by the asterisk (*) character, are used to divide up the remaining space in the frameset into equal portions (as shown in Figure 14-2). For instance, the frameset <frameset cols="100,*"> creates two columns—the first is 100 pixels wide, and the second fills whatever portion is left of the window.

You can also specify relative values in multiples of equal portions and combine them with other measurement values. For example, the frameset defined by <frameset cols="25%,2*,*"> divides the window into three columns. The first column always occupies 25% of the window width. The remaining two divide up the remaining space; however, in this case, the middle column will always be two times as big as the third. (You may ...