5. Frames

A frame is an area into which text or images can be placed.

Frames are commonly used in Desk Top Publishing applications. The publication on the right shows a number of text and image framed placed on the page.

A 'Frame' is independent of any other elements on the page. It can be easily moved around the page and positioned where it is required.

Frames can be placed next to one another or even overlapped with another frame, whereby the text in one frame will reposition itself around the overlapping frame.

In DTP packages, frames can be linked together so that excess text flows from one frame into the next.

Frames can be formatted independently of one another. For example, one frame can contain text which is size 12, Arial font and blue in colour. Another frame might contain size 14, Tahoma font in black.

Magazines and Newspapers make heavy use of frames to lay out their pages.

Word processing packages also use frames to some extent. For example you can place a graphic such as a logo within a simple frame on the page, then you can move this frame around the page and the text on the page itself flows around it.