[Javascript] Refresh needed and Jumping Div's (IE6/Win)

[paul at novitskisoftware.com (Paul Novitski)]

At 09:50 AM 7/29/2005, Glenn E. Lanier, II wrote:
>I'm not sure it was the correct method, but I modified the page to hide 
>the containing div, then show the inner div(s), then re-show the 
>containing div. That seemed to fix my initial problem. The second problem 
>was rectified via CSS change, and I am assuming the "button" jumping 
>around on a hover is also CSS/IE related.


Glenn,

I think the risk you face by toggling display is that most screen readers 
don't "see" page elements whose display property is changed from none to 
block.  Therefore a page that uses that technique will not be wholly 
functional for visitors who use visually assistive technology.

As an alternative, you could consider this technique:

         div.hide
         {
                 position: absolute;
                 margin-left: -1000em;
         }

         div.show
         {
                 position: static;
                 margin-left: 0;
         }

The effect will be similar to toggling display from none to block: while 
hidden, the element is taken out of the normal flow and other items will 
close up the gap.  When shown, it will suddenly reassert itself in the 
layout.  For screen readers, I believe the element will remain present at 
all times at its position in the HTML markup.

Paul