layers compatibility

[Turner]

Hi there!
I havent done anything in html for a while, about a few months ago, I
had started working with layers, mainly just to have a background image
that would not repeat over and over.

I had lots of trouble then trying to make my page look the same on
many different browsers, I had eventually decided my page would 'look
nicier in internet explorer' and I stopped trying to support other
browsers.

There are a few things, simple ones, I'd like to understand. When I
say understand, I mean I can exploit the feature for browsers such as
Mozilla, Explorer, Safari, Netscape, etc...

First thing: What is the default layer number or level for these
browsers?

Second thing: Thinking that my whole document will be on the basic
layer, how can I get something to print between the document and the
background? to get something to print on top of document?

If you have any thorough information on this topic, please send it to
me or give me the url. I cannot afford to buy a book right now, but a
suggestion would be great!

Thanks,
Turner

[Jeff Thies]

Turner wrote:

Hi there!
I havent done anything in html for a while, about a few months ago, I
had started working with layers, mainly just to have a background image
that would not repeat over and over.
You are more than a bit mixed up. Layer is a proprietary construct of
Netscape 4.
What you are probably thinking of is z-index and div.

As far as background images that do not repeat, do a Google search on
CSS and, surprise, no-repeat.

Also, you are sure to annoy the regulars here (I'm not a regular) if
you post in HTML instead of plain text and try to over produce a page.
What it is all about here is seperating content from presentation. As
well as designing for all browsers and resolutions.

Try over in alt.html

And consider FLASH, it may give you all the bells and whistles you want.

Jeff

I had lots of trouble then trying to make my page look the same on
many different browsers, I had eventually decided my page would 'look
nicier in internet explorer' and I stopped trying to support other
browsers.

There are a few things, simple ones, I'd like to understand. When I
say understand, I mean I can exploit the feature for browsers such as
Mozilla, Explorer, Safari, Netscape, etc...

First thing: What is the default layer number or level for these
browsers?

Second thing: Thinking that my whole document will be on the basic
layer, how can I get something to print between the document and the
background? to get something to print on top of document?

If you have any thorough information on this topic, please send it to
me or give me the url. I cannot afford to buy a book right now, but a
suggestion would be great!

Thanks,
Turner

[Turner]

Thanks Jeff for your reply, I was indeed talking about div and
z-index, I thought these were called layers (as in my undestanding they
have the same effect as Photoshop layers...).

I'm still interested to know what are the compatibility status of the
z-index within different browsers (some browsers dont interpret them
the same way).

As for the email I write, I'm sorry if it is annoying, I'm using
google's posting interface and I have no way of doing otherwise. Unless
you know a free webbased newsgroup browser that would be better than
google's.

Can you quickly explain the difference between alt.html and this
newsgroup? So I know what question to address where...

Thanks!
Turner

[Jeff Thies]

I'm still interested to know what are the compatibility status of the
z-index within different browsers (some browsers dont interpret them
the same way).
I'm not aware of any major browsers incompatibilities, at least with divs.

The only problems anyone ever has is with form elements, which tend to
be on top. Some browsers may have *fixed* that. There's some variations
in IE on IFrames, but I rarely use those. I'm not sure if the "native"
z-index is 0 or 1, and if this varies, but it's a problem that really isn't.

As for the email I write, I'm sorry if it is annoying, I'm using
google's posting interface and I have no way of doing otherwise. Unless
you know a free webbased newsgroup browser that would be better than
google's.

Can you quickly explain the difference between alt.html and this
newsgroup?
For lack of a better term, all the alt groups are more alt. Friendlier
territory for newbies. comp.* tend to expect posters to have already
done their homework. Some can be nasty if they haven't.

Standard practice for any newsgroup is to read a bit of it before
posting. So, do your reading!

And Google is your friend, look around.

Jeff

So I know what question to address where...
Thanks!
Turner

[Horís Onomá]

Turner wrote:

how can I get something to print between the document and the
background? to get something to print on top of document?

Look at this example:

http://coolhaus.de/misc/layered-page.htm

I think it has all the elements you're probably looking for:

a bacground color
a background image that does not repeat
some content in a separate layer on top of that
some content in yet another separate layer on top of that

The sample is valid HTML 4.01 Strict, so it should display roughly the
same in all modern browsers.

Greg

[Turner]

Thanks Jeff for explaining the differences of the newsgroups. I'm also
glad you say there should be no compatibility problems.

Thanks Greg for the page you provided, I'll test it on different OS
(MacOS 9,MacOS X, Linux, Windows) with all available or comon browsers.

The reason I'm asking for compatibility is that I once coded a page
with a single image that should not repeat and the image would just not
display at all in Mozilla. I probably coded it wrong.

Thanks to all of you!
Turner