CSS and Layers

Now we have examined all the standard tabling options available in NetObjects Fusion.  The other methods we have available involve the codes developed by Microsoft and Netscape to allow exact positioning and layered elements (z-order) on pages.  These are CSSP (Cascading Style Sheet Positioning) and Layers.  CSSP is developed by Microsoft and is supported by Internet Explorer versions 3.x and higher.  Layers code is developed by Netscape and is supported by Navigator and Communicator 4.x and higher.

Tables, developed for HTML 3.0, are a rather loose, two dimensional structure. As we have seen, they can expand and contract, depending on the elements inside them.  It is even possible to make tables completely flexible (as you may have seen on some webpages) such that the cells have no exact dimensions at all, but depend on the size of the browser window.*

CSSP and Layers were each developed to allow the website designer/
programmer to place elements on the page as if it were a print application (very much the way that the Page view in NetObjects Fusion displays things), with each element specified at coordinate locations starting from 0,0 in the upper left-hand corner of the browser window.  Additionally elements can have a z-order, meaning that one element can be displayed on top of another--something which is not allowed in table code.

The only problem with this is that text still can change size. To accommodate this the CSS code does have the ability to specify exact font faces and sizes as the default. However, at this time Netscape does not have any equivalent code, and NetObjects Fusion does not have any setting which automatically generates the font formatting elements of CSS. What NetObjects Fusion does generate is the exact positioning code which allows you to have layered elements, and DHTML actions.

To see this example you must have at least Netscape 4.0 or higher, or IE 3.0 or higher.  If you view the next page with a 3.x Netscape browser, you will see a bunch of elements all strung along the left-hand side of your browser window.

*  The ability to have the contents of your page size to the browser window is not something which by default NetObjects Fusion can do. However, there is a way to implement this both with and without tables. For more information take a look here.

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