Targeting Frames: Hyperlinks in Frames

Let's first consider what happens when a hyperlink is selected in a normal HTML document. Usually, when a user selects a hyperlink to another document, the current document disappears from the browser window and is replaced by the new document. This is just the "old style" of web surfing that was common before the advent of frames. Each hyperlink, when selected, instructed the browser to update the entire window with a new document.

Frames, however, work a little differently. When hyperlinks in framed documents are selected, the browser can update just the frame containing the hyperlink, a different frame, a set of frames, the entire window, or even a new pop-up window! Thus, when a hyperlink is selected, non, some, or all parts of the browser window may change, depending on parameters specified in the hyperlink.