The HTML Map Tag

 
I get so frustrated at times trying
to fix HTML problems. So I'm starting
this blog to vent my frustrations and
learn at the same time.

I always hope that someone out there
will benefit from what I've written.
I hate to go through an experience like
this for nothing.

I've been working on a flash website.
For some reason, I'm not able to get
the map tag to work. All I'm
trying to do is to put navigation at
the top right above the flash navigation.

In other words, I'm building new navigation
on top of the old --- literally. It's as
if the flash animation is the first marquee and
my map tag marquee is a second marquee
built on top of the first. That's the vision.

Why won't this work? There's a lot of
weird positioning going on the code including
lots of height attributes. I find these
particularly difficult to work with as they tend
to lock things down and make it hard to modify
the page by adding something new. I don't think
I ever use a height attribute on my own.
However, sometimes I have to take what I'm given.

Of course, there is the radical solution of starting
brand new. However, I try to avoid this as I feel
that this is the worst case scenario. I try to respect
what is there and work with it rather than to destroy
it. If possible, I modify and build on top of what
is already there.

Looks like I'll be reading about image maps again
in the HTML 4.01 specification:

Image Maps

I'm doing something goofy and I don't know what it
is.

In all probability, I'm trying to make an image map
do something it was never meant to do. I'm trying
to use an image map for layout of text navigation.
I think I've got the wrong idea.

I hate to say it, but propably the best way to do
horizontal layout of text navigation is a table.
I've never found a more straight-forward way to do
it.

However, the thought occurs to me that the div
element might work well if it were turned into
an inline-level element instead of a block-level
element.

I'm trying to stretch beyond how I usually do
things.

Ed Abbott