Framing the Web / Appendix
_parent Magic Target
Framing the Web
The key to understanding how the
_parent magic target
works is understanding the relationship between parent and child.
Although these concepts have to do with frame windows, it is easier to
think of them in terms of files.
A parent is a file which calls another file.
<html> <head> <title>My Frames 1</title> </head> <frameset rows="*,2*> <frame src="white.html"> <frame src="red.html"> </frameset> </html>
In this case, myframes.html is the parent of white.html and red.html.
Any link within these child files targetted to
will replace myframes1.html in the window.
Suppose a link in red.html calls green.html targetted
_parent. The file green.html will load into the
window of red.html's parent:
Even with more complex frame layouts, the behavior still follows this pattern:
<html> <head> <title>My Frames 1</title> </head> <frameset rows="*,2*> <frame src="white.html"> <frameset cols="3*,*"> <frame src="blue.html"> <frame src="red.html"> </frameset> </frameset> </html>
Links in the child files white.html, blue.html, and
red.html targetted to
_parent still fill up the
In many ways, this resembles
target="_top". The magic
_parent, however, can be made to act differently
Consider the following files, myframes2.html:
<html> <head> <title>My Frames 2</title> </head> <frameset rows="*,2*> <frame src="white.html"> <frame src="myframes3.html"> </frameset> </html>
<frameset cols="3*,*"> <frame src="blue.html"> <frame src="red.html"> </frameset>
Notice that myframes3.html is a file with nothing but a frameset in it.
In this case, myframes2.html is the parent of white.html and myframes3.html, whereas myframes3.html is the parent of blue.html and red.html.
Now, any link in red.html or blue.html targetted to
_parent will replace the entire lower frame:
* * * *
Dan Brown (email@example.com) is an Online Developer for Ventana Communications Group. Besides writing and designing Web sites for Ventana and Netscape Press, Dan produces some of the multi-media CD-ROMs that come with Ventana books. Outside Web and technology development, Dan spends his time exploring online culture, information design, dogs, drumming and jazz. Dan graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in Philosophy. His home page is (and don't say we didn't warn you): http://www.vmedia.com/dan.
This tutorial originally appeared in the March 1996 issue of Navigate!.
Comments are welcome
Copyright © 1996 Dan Brown and
Created: May 14, 1996
Revised: Mar. 23, 1998
Links revised: Oct. 27, 1999