Entry

How to get <Base href=> to work for relative links inside a javascript with IE. It works with NN.

Apr 7th, 2008 23:33
ha mo, Colin Fraser, jellether moore,

I understand that this is in fact a long standing problem with earlier
versions of Netscape and  most versions of IE, I am not sure about the
most recent versions of either, but you say you have it working in
Netscape but not IE. As a general rule of thumb, my approach has been to
use script to control essential navigation, not HTML. I prefer to use
something along the lines of:
<script>
function goingto(newLoc) {    
  location.href= newLoc  
 }
</script>
and 
  <a href="javascript:"goingto('thispage.htm')">This Page</a>
However, I have also managed to avoid using the <base href=... by using
the frames array. Here is some old code I use to use for a set of
tutorials I wrote a long time ago... 
The first array is the pages I wanted to display
pageArray = new Array("tute1.htm", "tute2.htm", "tute3.htm",
"tute4.htm", "tute5.htm",  "tute6.htm", "tute7.htm" );
Later I added a bit more diversity different menus, I had to create a
menu array to work in conjunction with the page array  
menuArray = new Array("menu.htm", "menu2.htm", "menu3.htm", "menu4.htm",
"menu5.htm", "menu6.htm", "menu7.htm" );
This function used the frames array to set the visible document in the
main frame
function set1Frame(newPage) {
parent.frames[1].document.location.href = pageArray[newPage];
} 
After creating the menu array, I added another line to the code linking
menus and pages, as the main page changed so did the menu. 
function set2Frames(newMenu,newPage) {
parent.frames[0].document.location.href = menuArray[newMenu];
parent.frames[1].document.location.href = pageArray[newPage];
}
In the menu page I used this code:
<a href="javascript:set1Frame(0)">Tutorial 1.</a> <br>
and repeated it for each page I wanted to change via the page array. 
Later I used this code :
<a href="javascript:set2Frames(1,1)">Tutorial 2.</a><br>
This one I send 2 variables to the function that accesses the page and
menu arrays. 
In both these cases I have avoided using <base href= as at that time it
was more trouble than it was worth. I am not sure why the problem
existed but it did. Today, I use a cleaner form navigation to get where
I want to go, like : 
The form: 
<form>A Navigation Menu
<select name="nextLoc" onChange="goPage(this.form.nextLoc)">
<option value="" SELECTED>Select a topic
<option value="http://www.artworks.com">Art Works
<option value="tute1.htm">Object D'Art
<option value="tute2.htm">Secure handling
</form>
The function : 
function goPage(newLoc) {
   if (newLoc.options[newLoc.selectedIndex].value != "") {
      location.href= newLoc.options[newLoc.selectedIndex].value
   }      //if
   else {
      alert("Please select another topic")
   }   
}  
I have seen variations on this code but it works nonetheless in any
situation. As long as you pass the correct URL, you have no need to use
<base href=
I hope this answers your question, and maybe offers an alternative that
works for you. Good luck.
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