I have created a graphic complete with rollover links on fireworks and have exported the html from it onto Dreamweaver. I have it set up to look like a typical frameset with navigations on the left side and a hearder graphic across the top. However, I am unsure as to how to set up the "target" for the links since there is no actual frames setup. I can insert a layer but again I do not know how to link the other pages to that area.

Would I be better off splitting the graphic and making a frameset?

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

If you're not using frames (and I'm glad you're not) you shouldn't need a target at all on the links. Just specify the href property of the <a> tag and you should be all set.

Thank you for your reply!
I'm sorry I guess I still dont understand...
I wish I had a link to post but I dont.

Right now when you click on any of the links, it automatically opens in a new window and I didnt set it to open _blank. I guess what I dont understand is how does the link know where to display the page content if I dont tell it where I want it to display? I am going to try and work up an example page I think.

Hmm? Well it shouldn't be opening in a new window without a target added. If you can't post a link to the page could you post some of the code.

Your link should look like:

<a href="path-to-another-page.html">Some Text Here</a>

Maybe it also has an alt attribute or something. Is there any JavaScript by chance? Something like onclick="window.open(lots of stuff in here);" The new window might be opening with JavaScript.

It's hard to know for certain what's going on so if you can paste some code here I'll be happy to take a look and see if I can figure out what's causing the new window to open.

When you don't use frames you don't need to tell the link where to open since by defaut it will just open in the same window. The new page that the link points to will just replace the one you were viewing.

With frames though you're looking at one page which is actually divided to contain other pages. Links in frames will also load new pages by default in the same frame where the link is. Usually you want the new page to open in a different frame so you add that information to the link telling it where to open the new page.

Does that make sense. I might not be explaining it very well, but I swear I know what I mean.

Show code, please!

A link doesn't NEED a 'target', any links will automatically open up in the same browser window as the first page, that's the basic way HTML links work. Make sure you don't have ANY "target =" on your link.

Ok for help purposes I thru together this test script and uploaded it to a yahoo site that I had laying around.

http://www.geocities.com/kindred881/testscript.html

Please excuse the obnoxious colors

I created this site using the same techniques as the other one I was refering to, with basically the simpliest graphics possible. I didnt want to mess with uploading the other one to yahoo since the graphics are quite detailed. I know that Yahoo has a funny way of mixing things around!

So again my main question was, how do I get these links to open in the white space on the testscript.html page. I dont want them to open and cover everything, I need them to open in that white space.

Thanks to everyone to all the help you've provided so far. I have done this in the past but for the life of me I can not remember how to do it now!!!

Ok WHY does the content HAVE to appear in that white space ?? Frames and IFRAMES are simply not a good idea. They are very search engine UNfriendly and not very user friendly either.

However you can do what you want with an Iframe or with dynamic 'layers' using CSS and scripting, neither of which are recommended.

Users EXPECT a page to change, but if all your subsequent pages use the exact same header and navigation, they're not going to notice anything but the content changing anyway.

I guess I am not making my question clear, I don’t want to use frames and I am not using frames! I need to have the content pages open in that white space because the people I am creating the websites for want it that way. The last web designer did exactly what you are saying and there are 3 sites running on the same server and all the files were jumbled together because that person didn’t know how to organize!

But why would I want to bog down the site by making it open the navigations over and over again for each page? That doesn’t seem to be the most professional way of doing it. The blog templates that I create open the content in a specific location and that’s what I need to do for these sites I am creating. I didn’t want to have to make some complicated script to display this information because both of the sites are only going to be used as informational and promotional websites and will be updated frequently.

I am sure everyone wants me to use CSS for this, and I will admit that I would love to but I do not know css that well. It has been several years since I took my classes in it and I do not want to create more of a headache for myself! I do have all my books and can most likely get it together if I can get it started LOL! I just need to flip the light switch on!

Eventually I am going to have to create a store locator either on php or we may set the site up for DNN and then have Cutopia implement their new store locator function.

I understand how the basics of HTML work, I am not a newbie designer I have a degree in the field. I am however rusty since I have not done anything in a few years. I have not set any of the targets or alt features. So far I have just created the main graphics, created the rollovers (swap image behaviors not basic rollovers) and put in the links for each.

But why would I want to bog down the site by making it open the navigations over and over again for each page? That doesn’t seem to be the most professional way of doing it. T

It's NOT going to bog down anything. The first time a page is loaded in the browser the graphics are cached (and everything else) on the user's machine anyway, that's how it works, that's how it has always worked. So, you're not forcing a re-load of anything. If the graphics for every page looks like that sample template you linked to, then the ONLY thing on each page that will actually load 'new' is the new content on each called page.

As for blogs, they're all specially scripted and laid out to do what they do. I don't use them so I don't know what's involved. Perhaps if you showed us an example of one that works they way you want it to.

The blog templates that I create open the content in a specific location and that’s what I need to do for these sites I am creating.

The only way you are going to accomplish that is to use dynamic 'layers', which requires scripting, or an iframe. It could be done in CSS, but then ALL the content for every single 'page' would have to be actually coded INTO that ONE page, then you show and hide divs as needed. That gets complicated.