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HTML <frame> tag


Example

A simple three-framed page:

<html>

<frameset cols="25%,50%,25%">
  <frame src="frame_a.htm" />
  <frame src="frame_b.htm" />
  <frame src="frame_c.htm" />
</frameset>

</html>

Try it yourself!  (more examples at the bottom of this page)


Definition and Usage

The <frame> tag defines one particular window (frame) within a frameset.

Each frame in a frameset can have different attributes, such as border, scrolling, the ability to resize, etc.


Browser Support

Internet Explorer Firefox Opera Google Chrome Safari

The <frame> tag is supported in all major browsers.


Differences Between HTML and XHTML

In HTML the <frame> tag has no end tag.

In XHTML the <frame> tag must be properly closed.


Tips and Notes

Note: If you want to validate a page containing frames, be sure the doctype is set to "Frameset DTD". Read more about doctypes.

Important: You cannot use the body element together with the frameset element. However, if you add a <noframes> tag containing some text for browsers that do not support frames, you will have to enclose the text in a body element.


Optional Attributes

DTD indicates in which DTD the attribute is allowed. S=Strict, T=Transitional, and F=Frameset.

Attribute Value Description DTD
frameborder 0
1
Specifies whether or not to display border around the frame F
longdesc URL A URL to a long description of the frame contents. Use it for browsers that do not support frames F
marginheight pixels Defines the top and bottom margins in the frame F
marginwidth pixels Defines the left and right margins in the frame F
name frame_name Defines a unique name for the frame (to use in scripts) F
noresize noresize When set to noresize the user cannot resize the frame F
scrolling yes
no
auto
Determines scrollbar action F
src URL Defines the URL of the file to show in the frame F

Standard Attributes

Only allowed in XHTML 1.0 Frameset DTD!!

id, class, title, style

For a full description, go to Standard Attributes.


Try-It-Yourself Demos

Horizontal frameset
How to make a horizontal frameset with three different documents.

Mixed frameset
How to make a frameset with three documents, and how to mix them in rows and columns.

How to use the <noframes> tag
How to use the <noframes> tag.

Frameset with noresize="noresize"
How to use the "noresize" attribute. The frames are not resizable. Move the mouse over the borders between the frames and notice that you can not move the borders.

Navigation frame
How to make a navigation frame. The navigation frame contains a list of links with the second frame as the target. The file called "tryhtml_contents.htm" contains three links. The source code of the links:
<a href ="frame_a.htm" target ="showframe">Frame a</a><br>
<a href ="frame_b.htm" target ="showframe">Frame b</a><br>
<a href ="frame_c.htm" target ="showframe">Frame c</a>
The second frame will show the linked document.

Jump to a specified section within a frame
This example demonstrates two frames. One of the frames has a source to a specified section in a file. The specified section is made with <a name="C10"> in the "link.htm" file.

Jump to a specified section with frame navigation
This example demonstrates two frames. The navigation frame (content.htm) to the left contains a list of links with the second frame (link.htm) as a target. The second frame shows the linked document. One of the links in the navigation frame is linked to a specified section in the target file. The HTML code in the file "content.htm" looks like this: <a href ="link.htm" target ="showframe">Link without Anchor</a><br><a href ="link.htm#C10" target ="showframe">Link with Anchor</a>.


From http://www.w3schools.com (Copyright Refsnes Data)