Dynamic Layers > About layers and HTML code

About layers and HTML code

When you insert layers into your Web page, Dreamweaver inserts the HTML tag for those layers in your code. You can set four different tags for your layers: div, span, layer, and ilayer. div and span are the most common tags and are recommended for use so that the widest audience will be able to view your layers. Both Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Navigator 4.0 support layers created using the div and span tags. Only Navigator 4.0 versions support layers created with the layer and ilayer tags (Netscape discontinued support in later browsers). Earlier versions of both browsers display the contents of a layer but do not display the positioning.

By default, Dreamweaver creates layers with the div tag and inserts layer code at the insertion point, or at the top of the page, just after the body tag. If you create a nested layer, Dreamweaver inserts the code inside the tag that defines the parent layer. To change the default tag, see Layers preferences.

The following is sample HTML code for a single layer (as it would look in Dreamweaver):

<div id="Layer1" style="position:absolute; visibility:inherit; width:200px; height:115px; z-index:1">
</div>

The following is sample HTML code for a nested layer (as it would look in Dreamweaver):

<div id="Parent" style="position:absolute; left:56px; top:54px; width:124px; height:158px; z-index:1;">
Content inside the parent layer. 
<div id="Nested" style="position:absolute; left:97px; top:114px; width:54px; height:69px; z-index:1;">
Content inside the nested layer. 
</div>
</div>

You can set properties for positioning the layers on your page. These properties include left and top (x and y coordinates, respectively), z-index (also called the stacking order), and visibility. For more information, see Setting layer properties.