Check the demo I posted again: it doesn't change size as you change
resolution or browser width. The first one I posted did, but the new one
doesn't...:). Nor do the columns within it.

http://webctr.com/css-footer.html

Having a liquid effect is not a functionality of positioning - you can do it
with or without positioning. It is a function of the measurement used in the
width: percentiles or pixels.

D

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Taylor" <on.lonewolf(at)nuvox.net>


Unfortunately, I have to use the absolute positioning.  Our group
universally agreed that we didn't want the content to expand out as the
viewer increased their screen resolution;  we want it to go no farther to
the right than 760 pixels, and each column has to have a fixed size.

We've found that trying to read text from a column that expands with the
screen resolution can become very hard to read when a whole paragraph fits
on one long, meandering line.  Plus we want the left and right columns to
remain fixed for advertising elements we need to go there (it's a corporate
site...you wouldn't believe how much banner advertising revenue we get as a
result!) So, the fixed width on the elements will have to remain intact.

Since all the working examples of CSS footers are used on pages without
absolute positioning, I guess I'll have to go the route of placing the
footer in the middle column.  Like you said, not the best solution, but
probably the only one I'm going to get to work unless I want to cop-out and
use a table.

Thanks for the insight, everyone.

Mike


---------  Original message --------
From: Darrell King <darrell(at)webctr.com>


> I understand the frustration, believe me.  Still, I have to wonder at the
insistence to use absolute positioning when it's not the proper tool for the
job. It's certainly a wonderful technique that opens a lot of doors to us,
but it is rarely the proper approach when trying to emulate the table hacks
we have all learned over the past few years!

http://webctr.com/css-footer.html

Floats work just fine for what you are trying to do.  In fact, the only
thing about this page that is different from your description is that I
reduced the width of the center column because the fit was too tight at 505
pixels and the right column dropped below the first two in Mozilla.

I personally went through the headaches you are describing last Summer.  I
remember thinking that it was crazy to spend so much time and energy on such
a simple thing.  It wasn't until I changed my way of thinking about it that
I became less frustrated.  Basically, I use absolute position sparingly
unless I know the exact height and width of the display - similar to the way
that such things are known for sure in print media.  When I want more
flexibility - a more liquid display - I tend to fall back on floats.  Is
there any reason you *have* to use absolute positioning to achieve your
goals?

As a final though, I will sometimes place the footer information beneath the
content copy, too, instead of beneath the entire set of columns.  Probably
not something that would help on this design, but it has helped me in other
cases.

I hope the example above helps somebody avoid a bit of the hair-tearing I
went through...:).

D

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