Hi
A while ago I discovered a way of creating css pseudo-frames, that
offer users the important benefits of real frames (i.e. the navigation
remains visible when you scroll down the page), but without most of
the drawbacks (in particular, unlike real frames, this method is
bookmarks-friendly and search engine-friendly). However, the method
still has sufficient drawbacks from an accessibility point of view
that I have been planning to provide an alternative stylesheet for
users who prefer not to or can't use the default one. But to my
dismay, I discovered today that the javascript that I had found to
switch stylesheets is not bookmarks-friendly and I was hoping someone
here might be able to think of a way of switching stylesheets that is.
My plan was to make the stylesheet that uses "pseudo frames" the
default if the user has javascript enabled, and to make the other
stylesheet the default if the user has javascript disabled (for
accessibility reasons). I planned to do this by making the "no pseudo
frames" stylesheet the css default, and to then use a body onLoad
statement to switch to the "pseudo frames" stylesheet when the page
loads. But the style switching code that I found is not bookmarks-
friendly.
If you look at my mock-up at http://tinyurl.com/5ahkz2 , if you click
on the link that says "See page 2, figure 1", it doesn't go to the
bookmark, it goes to the top of the page - unless you click in the
address bar after page 2 has loaded and press Return - then it does go
to the bookmark, but my users would not be willing to put up with
having to do that. On the other hand, if you disable javascript (which
has the effect of making the "non pseudo frames" stylesheet the
default), and in p1-switch.htm, if you click the same link again,
then it does go straight to the bookmark. You can see the code that is
doing the style switching if you view the source.
To demonstrate that it is the style switching code that is causing the
problem, I have created two additional mock-ups that don't use style
switching code, but which simply load the "pseudo frames" stylesheet,
with no alternative stylesheet on offer. If you look at the mock-up at
http://tinyurl.com/5sargz , and if you click on the "See page 2,
figure 1" link, then it does go straight to the bookmark.
This discovery has been a real shock to me, as I have read several
articles about using alternative stylesheets, and none of them have
included any warning that doing so is not bookmarks-friendly. The
bookmarks-friendliness of the site I'm developing is a lot more
important to me than offering an alternative stylesheet is, although
both are important.
I should also add that my knowledge of javascript is very rudimentary,
so if the workaround for this problem is at all complex, I'll need
considerable hand holding; but the site I'm developing is non-
commercial, is an extremely good cause, and I'm not being paid for
doing it; so I do hope someone can help.
Dave
