Posted by Spartanicus on 12/29/05 15:58

Len Philpot <len@philpot.org> wrote:

>> >against them. However, I like the idea of a unchanging, non-scrolling
>> >nav bar to one side of the page, with the content free to do it's thing
>> >on the other side (personal preference).
>>
>> For a www site your personal preferences should be irrelevant, it should
>> be aimed at users.
>
>Well, that preference was stated from the viewpoint /as/ a user

It's a mistake to assume that others like what you like, some may,
others will not. Establishing reliable numbers is rarely achievable,
typically you should strive for a situation where your choice causes the
least amount of difficulties for users who dislike your choice.

>To me, a nav pane that out of sight is basically useless, since it
>forces me to go to the browser controls anyway instead of using the
>supplied page links.

A choice for fixed navigation on the basis that you find it difficult to
hit the Home key or some other method to get to the top of a document is
not a good reason.

>> IE6 doesn't support position:fixed, JS hacks exist to emulate similar
>> functionality, but they are cumbersome to use (high CPU usage when
>> scrolling), and it's jerky.
>
>You mean "IE 7" ?

The Dean Edwards script "IE7" is one JS method (which also includes many
other hacks), there are other dedicated methods.

>> Then your options are:
>>
>> a) Use a preprocessor
>> b) Use an editor with a good block S&R
>> c) Build your site locally from a database that generates static files
>
>...or to play devil's advocate :
>
>d) Use frames
>
>However, I'm still thinking about that. It's a tradeoff - If this were a
>commercial site, the requirements would be a bit more stringent than for
>a personal hobby site.

As long as you are aware of the problems frames often cause, then it's
your choice. A few regulars in this group have pages on how to prevent
many of the problems that frames cause. Note that "doing frames
properly" usually causes a new problem: construction and maintenance
becomes a pig.

--
Spartanicus

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