Member Avatar for reagansmall

Hello -

I'm creating a website using Dreamweaver CS3 and I've run into a problem that I'm having trouble even explaining! Basically, I created a template that has the top, left side, and bottom navigation info and the center is left blank. I made the center an "editable region", and created webpages from this template. My question is how in the world to I get the template to expand vertically so that the content in each page created from the template fits nicely in the framed area.

I really hope this makes some sense and I get some help...it's driving me crazy!

Thanks!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by chrisbrandon

Dani AI

Generated

Good catch from — the symptom usually means the template’s layout is relying on a height value the browser cannot resolve, or floated columns aren’t being “contained” so the parent box stays short. The editable region in Dreamweaver templates is just HTML/CSS after generation, so fixing the CSS is the reliable approach rather than forcing a fixed pixel height in the template.

Common, safe fixes:

  • Avoid fixed height on the content wrapper; use min-height or let the height be auto so the box grows with content. Percentage heights only work when each ancestor has an explicit height (see MDN: height).
  • If the layout uses floats, make the parent contain them with a clearfix or overflow trick so the parent expands with floated children.
  • For modern layouts, replace floats with Flexbox to naturally make columns and let the center column expand as needed.

Example clearfix and a simple flex alternative:

/* clearfix */
.container::after {
  content: "";
  display: table;
  clear: both;
}
/* flexbox layout */
.container { display: flex; }
.sidebar { width: 220px; }
.content { flex: 1; }

Troubleshooting checklist for Dreamweaver templates: inspect the generated page with browser devtools, look at computed heights on the wrapper and its ancestors, search for any position:absolute or height: declarations coming from the template CSS, and confirm the editable region isn’t inside an element with a fixed height. The clearfix approach is simple and compatible; Flexbox is cleaner for new builds. See the clearfix reference at CSS-Tricks and Flexbox basics at MDN: Flexbox.

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Member Avatar for chrisbrandon

Do you have the height of the center region set to an absolute value, or have you set it to 100%.

I believe I set the sidebar to 100%, and float left. then the same for the center (content) area. I then set the footer to clear both.

If I understand the problem correctly, this may fix it. Otherwise, showing your coding will help. For me anyways.

Member Avatar for reagansmall

That helped! Thanks so much! :)

Member Avatar for chrisbrandon

Happy to hear it!

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