I have been trying to convert a site designed way back when with frames to one in Freeway Pro 5.4.1. The site as is has several coloured backgrounds as you can see at: alexalign.com. The site has been maintained using dreamweaver and I can just about convert the site from frames using tables in d-w but would prefer to use f-w. The problem is that the assorted background colours need to be able to stretch or contract according to the size of the browser window. I can do that if I set each coloured unit to be a html and width can grow. However I need to also have image files in those html units which stay centred relative to each of those html units. This I can’t work out how to do and get lost in a maze. I am hoping someone might know the answer! Just being able to make an html box that can expand and contract and place an image in the middle of it which holds that position would be a start…
Since I wrote this I have found that if I import an image file direct into an html file it all works. I am not sure if that has fixed the problem but it may have… Image files which have been converted from text html files in f-w seem to be a different matter and may have been where I was going wrong…
Well I spoke too soon. Sometimes the image stays centred and sometimes it does n’t. There are a variety of relevant settings and I’m not sure what they are. Clicking css on and off seems to effect whether an image can or cannot move outside an html box… Perplexity continues…
Hi David, Thanks for your help. In 5.4.3. I am drawing html box, unticking layer, then setting width can grow. Then putting another html box inside. No sign of “margin” and dimensions boxes won’t let me put auto in… Also I’m not sure how to set an image as back-ground… still perplexed but hoping for clarity soon! If I can get beyond this problem I will probably upgrade…
Thank you. Yes, this is the dilemma. The client does n’t really want to start over with all the time and expense involved. However he has been advised that a framed site is no longer appropriate in this day and age. I have kept the CCS button on but still no sign of margin option or importing image as background. I have put together other sites in f-w using CSS which have everything centered and a unified background so have not encountered this issue before. I am still curious to know how and where to find the margin option and also make image as a background to an html box. I am happy to upgrade but if I can’t do something as straightforward as this I am wondering if it’s worth it… Thank you for your advice. I feel I am going round in circles with this and getting nowhere but experience has taught me that eventually insight arises! Barry
Ok, thank you, I went for a walk and I think the penny has dropped. The way to resolve my issue is to make a stretchy html box, double click in it, centre the cursor, import image. Box then can stretch but image stays central. On that basis I think I can convert a dreamweaver framed site to f-w and keep the general format. The alternative is to convert it to a tables one in d-w. However what you Dave seem to be putting forward is that it would be better to drop that mind set altogether and start afresh and redesign the whole site. Once I have got the details sorted out I will give the client various options. Thank you for your help. If I do this in f-w I will upgrade to 7. Barry
So I have put the f-w generated file at http://www.alexalign.com/alexfreeway
I have checked the html in d-w and there appear to be 3 reference to “table” but otherwise I think it is entirely CSS so I am wondering if that means it is OK in terms of the current view on what is an accessible, flexible and search engine friendly site… I think the CSS button was on all the time. It is just an example at this stage as distinct from a working page… I have checked online what the general opinion is re frames, table and CSS. As far as I can gather that is the order of preference in reverse…
Thanks Dave. OK, so it’s still pretty much tables then. Is that considered to be a minor or major problem in the present way of thinking? I guess if I am going to use tables I might as well stay in dreamweaver… I have been wondering what would be the optimal layout for small screens. I guess the simpler the better but at the same time the content has to be interesting and fairly visual. I guess the compromise would be to design for an iPad or tablet size and have in mind the possibility of both contraction and expansion… I see that Freeway 7 has pages of variety of sizes…
If you use table layout, you will not be able to use the new responsive tools in Freeway 7. Table cells do not have IDs in Freeway’s world, so you can’t set different attributes on them in each breakpoint. In table-based layout, you use invisible spacer GIFs to prop the table open to the specific dimensions you need, and these cannot be re-created for each breakpoint, as the only changes possible in responsive design are those that are made directly in the CSS.
OK. Thank you. I have just been checking the f-w 7 video about responsive sites
and the gist of it seems to be that ideally when the break point or page layout is operative in mobile format there is only one column otherwise everything becomes too squashed. Generally tables are about putting things in columns so I can see that they are incompatible principles… However it seems that this new responsive feature in f-w 7 enables 2 column layouts to switch to 1 column layouts when the screen gets narrow… amongst other things!
