I need some help from you website gurus!!! 
I have a webpage that i’m working on, and the only thing on the html file (the one giving me problems) is a Flash 4 file. The flash works fine, but the problem is that it won’t align to the top left all the way. There is a strip there of black (the base color of the html file) on the top and on the left about 1/4" thick. My question is, how can i get the Flash to align perfectly against the edge of the window? Thanks in advance…
-Dani
I don’t know too much about Flash (yet!) so this is just a WAG as no one else has woken up yet.
Is the Flash file in a nested table set to less than 100% (where the outer table is black) ?
Is there a transparent spacer gif ?
Any cellpadding ?
Can you post the code ?
Do you see this in Netscape or IE? Try this code in the body tag to remove the page margins:
IE only:
<body topmargin="0" leftmargin="0">
Netscape and/or IE:
<body topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0">
I don’t work with Flash objects often and I recommend against their inclusion, but my experience has been that the Flash object does not have any postionable properties. You’re limited to describing it’s height and width. If you do nothing more, it will align itself relative to it’s surrounding content. To position the object absolutely, you have two options:
Put the Flash object in a <TABLE>. Make sure that CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 BORDER=0. You haven’t listed your HTML here for our perusal, but I suspect that this is where your problem lies. Using <TABLE> tags to position content is the poorest solution and not recommended by any developer worth her salt.
Wrap the Flash object in with <DIV> tags and use it’s style property for positioning. If you want the object to remain in the upper left corner, your DIV tag would look something like <DIV style=“position:absolute;left:0px;top:0px;”></DIV>
If you’ve tried solution #2 and you STILL see the black border, the problem is in the Flash file itself. I have no further recommendations other than to make sure the file has a transparent background and doesn’t use a border.
On the other hand, you need to ask yourself … Why do you think you need a flash file on your page? (Especially if it’s part of an entry portal - that’s a big no-no) What value does it give the person coming to visit your page? Will having the flash object make your users more or less likely to come back? The search engines will ignore it and so, too will your page visitors. These type of whizbang gizmos are the antithesis or good web design. Rather than focusing on “flash” in the standard meaning of the word, focus on providing valuable content that will make casual page visitors return again and again. Even if it’s plain old text, useful content will always win. For more information on building a site that won’t be featured at suck.com, visit: http://www.arsdigita.com/books/panda/
(Please bear in mind that I haven’t seen your site and for all I know it could be the greatest site in history of Planet Earth. I’m just offering some helpful suggestions based on my long experience in the field.)
Another word of advice - if you’re designing a web page, please be sure to know the difference in english between “its” and “it’s”, because otherwise some readers with delicate grammar sensibilities, may think, after viewing your page, that it’s carelessly edited and the errors detract from its value.
Always, always preview … grrrr…
You guys are the best! I added the topmargin=“0” leftmargin=“0” marginwidth=“0” marginheight=“0” to my body tag and it fixed it right up! Thanks everyone!
-Dani