<frame src="frame.html" name="display_frame">

describes a frame that displays frame.html and is named display_frame. If another frame or window (or even the same frame) contains this link:

<a href="file.html" target="display_frame">

and this link is selected, the file file.html replaces the file frame.html in the frame named display_frame. This is the basic use of targeting frames. A useful example is a book with a table of contents. The table of contents is loaded into a frame that occupies a narrow column on the left side of the browser window. The table of contents contains a list of links to each chapter in the book. Each chapter link targets the frame that occupies the rest of the window. You can then view the chapters while keeping the table of contents available for further navigation.

There are a couple of things to note about the use of targets and named frames:

• If a link without a target is contained within a frame, the referenced document replaces the current contents of the same frame if it is selected.

• If a link contains a target that does not exist, a new window is opened to display the referenced document, and the window is given the target's name. That window can thus be used by other links that target it.