Tables as Structure

June, 2008

Table Based Layout

The side border design is a seamless tile made in Photoshop from a sewing design. I use Flaming Pear Tessellation Filter to create seamless tiles like this. This seamless cloud background was created with Alien Skin Xenofex2 filter, Little fluffy Clouds.

I first styled these tables with the Properties Panel. They did not validate. Here is one of the three messages (all were the same, having to do with the background attribute)that W3C had to say about my validation errors:

Line 26, Column 21: there is no attribute "background".

You have used the attribute named above in your document, but the document type you are using does not support that attribute for this element. This error is often caused by incorrect use of the "Strict" document type with a document that uses frames (e.g. you must use the "Transitional" document type to get the "target" attribute), or by using vendor proprietary extensions such as "marginheight" (this is usually fixed by using CSS to achieve the desired effect instead).

The funny part is that this is a "Transitional" document so I am still a bit confused.

CSS is the answer but it was a great revelation using the tables and the properties panel! Fun, but at the same time posing all sorts of problems with placement....and validation errors! Just proves that CSS is not only easier and better but gives more refinement of placing objects.