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4.5. Frame Border Attributes

The recommended method for defining frame borders is to set the various border style attributes in the <frame> or <frameset> via a CSS stylesheet or inline style. Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator both support attributes that adjust the style of the borders that surround frames. These attributes were introduced in earlier browsers prior to a standardized specification. Although they have the same functions, the attributes are slightly different for each browser.

Netscape uses the frameborder attribute to toggle between 3D borders and simple rules for borders. The default is to use 3D borders; a value of no gives simple borders. This attribute can be placed in either the <frameset> tag or in a <frame> tag. A setting in an individual <frame> overrides an outer <frameset> setting.

You can also set the color of the borders in both <frameset> and <frame> with the bordercolor attribute.

In the <frameset> tag, you can set the width of the borders in a whole frameset with the border attribute. The default width is 5 pixels. To achieve borderless frames in Netscape, set border=0 and frameborder=no.

Internet Explorer does all the same things, only with different attributes. It also uses frameborder in the <frameset> and <frame> tags, but the values are 1 for 3D borders and 0 for simple ones. In the <frameset> tag, you can set the amount of space between frames with the framespacing attribute. By setting framespacing=0 and frameborder=0, you can achieve borderless frames.

Another feature in Internet Explorer is the floating frame. This has all the abilities that a regular frame does, but it is placed within a document like an <img> would be. The tag for a floating frame is <iframe>, and it requires a closing tag. The attributes include all of the regular <frame> attributes, and the sizing, alignment, and placement attributes of <img>.



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