Positioned Elements and OS Controls, Applets and Plug-ins

Form Elements

As mentioned on the previous page, the persistence problem is most commonly evident in FORM elements, at least as far as Navigator is concerned. Explorer, in its Windows incarnation, with its close relation to the OS, has a problem only with the SELECT element.

In the table below, we have reproduced all the valid form elements. Drag the bordered positioned element on the right over the elements to witness the behavior.

Form-Type Elements

ISINDEX

The little-used <ISNDEX> tag also generates a text input element (and some browser-generated prompt text, and two horizontal lines). This too, floats above positioned elements in Navigator. In Explorer, it can be hidden.

BUTTON

The HTML4 <BUTTON> tag is presently supported only by Explorer, and it does not present a persistence problem.

That about exhausts form elements. On the next page, we'll look at the behavior of built-in plug-ins.