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In this section, you'll learn how to control the dimensions of the Web pages you create in NetObjects Fusion. Your NetObjects Fusion 2.0 User Guide tells how to set the options and properties described below. This section describes how those settings interact so you can achieve the effects you want.
About Web Page Sizes
NetObjects Fusion Page Anatomy
New Pages in NetObjects Fusion
Dynamic Page Sizing
Using MasterBorders
ABOUT WEB PAGE SIZES
In NetObjects Fusion, page size is dynamic in that your page can "grow" as you place elements on it. This is quite unlike a word processor or page layout program, where page size is fixed. In the latter, typically one of your first tasks is to specify the dimensions of your finished product the printed page either by choosing a standard size such as 8.5x11, or entering custom dimensions for whatever paper stock your design requires. Any margin size you then choose will reduce the body area of the page.
Because Web pages do not require a physical existence to be effective, setting their size can be a more dynamic process. For example, sites typically include pages of different heights. NetObjects Fusion helps you take advantage of this flexibility by dynamically expanding each pages size as needed to accommodate the elements you place on it.
NETOBJECTS FUSION PAGE ANATOMY
In NetObjects Fusion, each page has two kinds of areas: Layout and MasterBorders. Notice there is no boundary line between the top and left margins. This lets you place in the upper-left corner elements that extend into both the top and left margins. At the other corners, you must place elements within one margin or the other because elements cannot straddle margin boundaries.
Each pages size is equal to its Layout size plus its MasterBorder size. When you increase or decrease the Layout or MasterBorder size using controls on the Properties palette, the page size, which you can see on the Layout tab, increases or decreases accordingly. NetObjects Fusion does not enforce a standard page size throughout your site; each page can be a different size if you like.
If you examine or modify the HTML NetObjects Fusion creates to describe a page , you should know that the total page size (Layout size plus MasterBorder size) determines the width of the HTML table NetObjects Fusion generates to specify element locations on your page.
NEW PAGES IN NETOBJECTS FUSION
When you are creating a new site, page size is initially determined by the template on which the site is based. For example, when you create a new blank site, your Home page inherits the default page size of the Blank Site template in your NetObjects Fusion 2.0\Templates folder. This default is 640x600, which is appropriate for the majority of browsers.
You can change your site's default page size on the Page tab of the Preferences dialog. Thereafter, any new pages you create will start at that size. A new page also inherits the sites Default MasterBorders.
DYNAMIC PAGE SIZING
When you add certain elements to the Layout area in Page view, NetObjects Fusion dynamically increases the Layout size to accommodate them. Here are some examples:
- When you create a text block and paste in more text than the text block can display, the text block expands down. If it reaches the bottom edge of the Layout, the Layout also expands down. This increases both your Layout and page height.
- When you place a horizontal banner close to the right edge of your Layout, the Layout grows right to accommodate it, increasing both your Layout and page width.
- When you use the Import Page command to import an HTML file, the Layout grows to accommodate the dimensions of the imported page. This means your NetObjects Fusion page will be the size of its MasterBorders plus the size of the imported page.
By default, you can control the width of a MasterBorder margin only by specifying a numeric value on the MasterBorders tab of the Properties palette. However, when you select the Auto-resize Margins option on the Page tab of the Preferences dialog, you can also set a MasterBorder margin's size by dragging its boundary line in Page view. Regardless of whether Auto-resize Margins is set, NetObjects Fusion always increases MasterBorder sizes to accommodate the elements you place within them, just as it dynamically adjusts Layout size while you work. Each MasterBorder style has a minimum page size, which is the smallest size required to display the elements placed in it. When you apply a MasterBorder style to a page that is smaller than the MasterBorder's minimum, NetObjects Fusion increases the pages size to the MasterBorder's minimum.
USING MASTERBORDERS
See your NetObjects Fusion 2.0 User Guide to learn how to modify your site's default MasterBorders, as well as how to create your own MasterBorder styles and apply them to different pages in your site.
Typically you'll use MasterBorders to present navigation aids to your site visitors, although you can place navigation aids in the Layout area as well. Your User Guide tells how to modify the navigation aids NetObjects Fusion automatically generates such as banners and buttons. The Customizing Navigation Aids usage note describes how the modification tools interact and how to use them in a real world example.
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