MarkDF

I have an old edition of an HTML 4.0 book whose name escapes me at the moment---it's mainly dark purple cover if that rings a bell for anyone.For javascript, I just bought Beginning Javascript 2e by Paul Wilton. You can get in at Barnes and Noble online or the store or Amazon. After struggling with javascript, I bought this book for one main reason: he tells you what parameters to use and when to use them . I'd already figured out my semicolon problems by then, but I figured if Wilton made a point of explaining the semi, I'd probably like the book and so far I haven't been disappointed (too many coding books overlook obvious stumbling blocks for newbies...like assuming you'll now what the parameter is and why because, heck, it's in the example, just copy it and move on).Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Hi Andy,As a relative newbie who was just helped out here, I feel the need to pass it on. Here's some tips that I found helpful:1. Bite down and buy one of those doorstop books on HTML and Javascript. They generally cover everything you'll want initially and will hang around as good references on hand. They run $20 to $40, but if you really want to play, they're worth the investment. Adding things like video clips, etc., is a matter of coding, so you need to learn it.2. My experience with webhosts is that they generally offer the same services for different prices. You'll have to judge for yourself what you want to pay and what for. FYI, you'll find for every webhost recommend, someone else hates the same host, so go with your gut. My host has pretty decent forums for advice and provides an easy FTP software for free. Tip: your main page should typically be named index"dot"html.3. Don't be afraid to edit the code your HTML program spits out. Personally, I find it more helpful to screw it up to see what stops working in order to understand what something does. If you don't want to lose the HTML program version, just save a new version with a different name and muck that up.4. This is one of the best sites I've found for learning and help. 5. You're on the right track with Photoshop for original images. You can even use your own digital photographs as gifs or jpgs as background images.Good luck!

Ack. It sounds like updating is going to be starting essentially from scratch. I guess this means it won't be happening as quickly as I hoped.Thanks for the input. Anyone else with two cents is welcome to chime in!

So, if the recommendation is away from frames, what's the alternative to frame functionality using CSS layouts? (I'd like to avoid javascript too since so many people disable it). The main thing I'm trying to replicate is the cleanness of clicking a link and having new content appear without refreshing static content. Or, again, am I not getting the CSS concept and refreshing everything onclick is what's intended to happen if you move away from frames? Is that really more efficient (assuming preloading graphics, etc.)? Are iframes okay to use, or is the recommendation away from those too?

Newbie here. I designed my website with framesets. In the next update, I want to eliminate them because I keep reading how awful they are. Here's a simple version of the problem I can't get my head around with CSS and HTML:I have two frames, a narrow lefthand menu frame with links that open new pages in the righthand content frame. For example's sake, let's say they're two links that open two different pages in the main content frame. That's three separate html docs.Conceptually, I understand how to visually mimic that in CSS by using a container and two boxes. What I'm having are hard time understanding is how to mimic the linking. Am I now creating two html docs that contain the same menu info in the left box and different content in the right box (in addition to the .css) so that when I click a link to Page 2, the entire page refreshes? Or is there an html code I use in the menu box that refreshes the content box only (can that even been done)?Sorry if this is obvious. I feel like there's an obvious concept I'm not getting.