Setting a frame’s default target
The target attribute of a hyperlink is used to instruct browsers where to open the link’s destination. For example, the target of a link might tell browsers to open the destination in a frame named “article_view”. If not specified, the target of any hyperlink is the window or frame containing the link. In a frameset, however, it is often desirable to have the destinations of hyperlinks in one frame open in another frame. Although it is possible to manually set the target for each hyperlink in a frame, it is much more convenient to set a default target for the frame. If a frame has a default target, every hyperlink in that frame will open in the specified target frame unless the link has its own, different specified target.
To set the default target of a frame
- Click inside the frame to make it active. (The active frame is shown with a blue border.)
- Do one of the following:
-
- Right-click Frame Properties on the shortcut menu.
- Click the Layout menu, go to Property and then click Frame.
- In the Default target box, type the name of a frame. To select a frame visually, click
(Select Target Frame).
Four special targets can be selected if you click the triangle on the Default target box:
|
_blank |
Links will open in a new window. |
|
_parent |
Links will open in the frame’s “parent”, replacing the frameset. The parent is usually the browser window, but if the frameset is being displayed in a frame of another frameset, then the parent is the containing frame in the higher-level frameset. |
|
_self |
Links will open in the current frame. |
|
_top |
Links will open at the topmost level of the current window (replacing all framesets). |
To override the default target for a specific hyperlink
- Double-click the hyperlink.
- In the Target box, enter the name of a frame. To select a frame visually, click (Select Target Frame).
Related topics
Setting a link’s target window or frame
Setting a default target for hyperlinks