JavaScript Examples Bible - UserWorks Technologies

Window and
Frame Objects
(Chapter 16)
As physical containers of documents, window and frame
objects play huge rolls in scripting. The window object
has been scriptable in one form or another since the first
scriptable browsers. Of course the object has gained numerous
properties, methods, and event handlers over time, but
you also often find many object-model-specific items that you
probably wish were available across all browsers.
While scripts permit Web authors to manage multiple
windows — and many of the examples in this chapter support
that facility — try to think about your visitors, too. Very often
multiple windows get in the way of site navigation and content,
regardless of your good intentions. As some examples
also demonstrate, you must include safety nets for your code
to counteract the unpredictable actions of users who close or
hide windows precisely when you don’t want them to do so.
Therefore, do not regard the multi-window examples here as
user interface recommendations; rather consider them as recommended
ways to handle a potentially tricky user-interface
element.
Possible exceptions to my multi-window admonitions are the
modal and modeless dialog box windows provided by various
versions of IE for Windows. For other platforms, a modal
dialog box can be simulated (search for details at www.
dannyg.com). IE5.5 for Windows also adds a popup type window,
which can be a helpful user interface element that exists
between a tooltip and a modal dialog box.
Modern browsers, however, provide ample script control
over framesets. As examples in this chapter demonstrate,
your scripts can hide and show frames, or completely rearchitect
a frameset without loading a new frameset.
2
C H A P T E R
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
In This Chapter
Scripting
communication
among multiple
frames
Creating and
managing new
windows
Controlling the size,
position, and
appearance of the
browser window
Dynamically
adjusting frame sizes
and frameset
compositions
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦