There really isn't anything fancy or technical about columns; after all, they are just tables. Before, while we may have a table that spans only 1/3 of our page...like this:

Win Mags	Win downloading
Pcworld	32-bit windows
techweb	ZD Net Software
ZDNET	Download PCWorld
Win Mag	download.com
C/net	shareware.com
searching...	Stroud's download

Now we have tables that span across our whole page, like this:
<----------------------------------------table=100%------------------------------------------->
<---cell=20%---><---------------cell=80%------------------------------------------------->

Win Mags	Win downloading
Pcworld	32-bit windows
techweb	ZD Net Software
ZDNET	Download PCWorld
Win Mag	download.com
C/net	shareware.com
searching...	Stroud's download

Or defined in pixels,

<-------------------------------600 pixels--------------------------------------------------->

<----------20 %---><--------------------------80 %--------------------------------------->

Win Mags	Win downloading
Pcworld	32-bit windows
techweb	ZD Net Software
ZDNET	Stroud's download
Win Mag	download.com
C/net	shareware.com
searching...	Download PCWorld

A table of roughly 600 pixels will only look full screen on a 640*480 screen, but since the majority of people now are still using this resolution, like almost every 14' and some 15' screens, this is what you should use when defining tables in pixels.

If you look closely at the above tables, it is precisely what we need to create a left bordered page. (And the tutorial just got started!) So now, before we forget anything, lets create a very popular template many websites now use on the web: left bordered page using the below as background:

Click Here to continue

Ok, you've created your first left bordered page...what's next, you ask? Before moving on, let's first clear up that ball of confusion that hovers around tables and cells...is there a difference between the two? The answer is, yes, and no. (what kind of answer is that?) Well, its kind of similar to the relationship between a daughter, her mother, and the grandmother. To the daughter (the cell) , the mother is the table, and to the mother, the grandmother is the table. To the grandmother, both the mother and the daughter are cells, while to the mother, only the daughter is. (I'm confusing all of us, right?) The point is, don't get so hung up on what is a cell and what is a table. It really makes no difference how you want to call them. However, how do you distinguish between the three when you want to make changes to one/some of them? Well, the easiest way is to look at configurations after right clicking the table and selecting cell properties/table properties. The configurations, ie: table width, border size etc will usually instantly give away which one you are dealing with.

Ok, lets move on.

If you're using FrontPage 97, you can easily add color/bg image to your cells (right click cell, and look at custom background color, background image), otherwise, look to HTML to get the job done. Anyways, you could, number 1)add color to a/some cells:

2)I do not recommend using the add bg image option below, because even Netscape3.01 has trouble seeing it. Explorer, of course, has no problem, since FrontPage and Explorer are "close" relatives. Here's an example of that:

Ok, so out with the bgimage option, but you're still left with the bgcolor one, so, that's good enough.

Another feature, Cell Spacing, comes in real handy when you have many cells connected to one another, each with the same bg color.

If you want the cells to look like its one cell, set the cell spacing to 0. (What are you talking about?) For example, look at the following ex.. The cells at the left are connected to the right cell in a way that makes it appear as one.

Lets turn the border on and see what's going on around here.

This, on the other hand, contains cellspacing=5.

Be creative now! With color definition and cellspacing, you can create a lot of designs with tables that can ultimately replace backgrounds!

Lets use our knowledge up to now to create a page that utilizes all of these concepts.
Click here to continue.

Ok, finally, lets talk a little about when and when not to define a cell's width.

You define a cell's width, which is what you'll do most of the time, (say to be 200 pixels) if you want all the content inside the cell to be conformed to the cell, like this:

<--------table=200pixels------->

BoBo the clown

You do not define a cell's width if you want the cell to conform to the largest single content: (In this case, Bobo.

<-table=undefined->

BoBo

If you don't get the above, dont worry about it...its not that important. As you become familiar to tables, it'll hit you that in some rare cases, you might want to not define a cell's width, but for now, lets let it go.