Is Frames Pages impractical?

[Mardley O.]

Some posts in this NG says so...

I have designing my default page website using frames pages (Nested
Hierarchy) i.e. the top, left & right. Yet haven't publish it.

Any other alternative for not using frameset? I prefer the way frameset work
as it is still acceptable yet there's some
limitation.

Mardley O.

 

[Murray]

The reason for using or not using frames should be based on a) your site's
needs, and b) your willingness to accept the potential problems that frames
can create for you as developer and maintainer of the site and for your
visitors as casual users of the site.

I am down on frames because I believe that they create many more problems
than they solve.
Judging from the posts here, and the kinds of problems that are described,
the kind of person most likely to elect to use frames is also the kind of
person most likely ill-prepared fo solve the ensuing problems when they
arise. If you feel a) that you understand the problems and b) that you are
prepared to handle them when they occur, and c) that you have a need to use
frames, then by all means use them.

As far as I know, the most comprehensive discussions of frames and their
potential problems can be found on these two links -

http://apptools.com/rants/framesevil.php
http://www.tjkdesign.com/articles/frames/

 

[Guy Lapierre]

For the most part, yes and for all the reasons described in this forum. There
are times when nothing else gives you the same functionality but in my
opinion avoid them unless there is no other option available. Good
alternatives to frames, depending on the application, are shared borders,
include pages, and even inline frames are much less troublesome.

 

[Murray]

Actually, inline frames (IFrames) have most of the same problems as regular
frames. I see scant need for either except in very unusual circumstances.

 

[Thor]

In one website, I have two very long pages. Unavoidable. Until now, I was
committed to avoiding frames, and used a shared border for navigation. That
meant my readers had to scroll all the way back to the top to regain the
navigation panel.

In order to scroll these pages while the navigation panel and the title
remain in place, I've created framesets with a search function embedded in
the title frame, which keeps it in view for successive searches. They're
doing just what I want, but of course they still suffer from the
disadvantages listed in your hyperlinks.

Is there any way to scroll part of a display without using frames?

 

[Murray]

That meant my readers had to scroll all the way back to the top to regain

the navigation panel.

Sprinkle "Back to top" anchors throughout your text. It's way better than
scrolling and WAY WAY better than using frames.

 

[Mardley O.]

I have designed another HTML document using frameset purposely
for bookmark page (directory) listing. Feel free to revise it and
give any implication if it can be done without frameset.

http://emdefs.awardspace.com/

Mardley O.