IE and Iframe problem

[kushty]

Hi Guys,

I have done a website for a client of mine and have included an Iframe which loads in an availability calendar from another website. It works fine firefox and Opera but in IE it just sits there trying to load.

here is the code used in the Iframe

<iframe
        onload="iFrameHeight()"        id="blockrandom"
        name="iframe"
        src="http://www.villarenters.com/advert_price_imbed.asp?ref=7885&rag=16341V&rcam=ownerweb"
        width="100%"
        height="650"
        scrolling="auto"
        align="top"
        frameborder="0"
        class="wrapper"> This option will not work correctly.  Unfortunately, your browser does not support Inline Frames </iframe>

Is it right that Iframes in IE can break if the page being loaded into the Iframe has on page styling? The page in question does have that and I am unable to do anything about it as it is a third party site.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

[dozzn]

my suggestion is to not have the iframe anymore; and you could just link to " http://www.villarenters.com/advert_price_imbed.asp?ref=7885&rag=16341V&rcam=ow nerweb "

Would that be ok for the client though?

[kushty]

dozzn, thanks for your response, I may have to do that in the end but the client and myself would like it to be on the page of her website.

[danlefree]

It would be useful to see the context that this code is running in - can you provide a link to the page this block appears in?

[kushty]

danlefree, here is the page that the block appears in, however since my first post I have tried using another page on the server in which the offsite source loads (container.html) but the problem still persists.

Glisten Orlando Vacation Villa on Lake Berkeley Resort - Villa Availability

and the container page Container

[Christiaan]

Loads fine in IE7 from my desktop.

[Web Res]

I have a similar condition where the accommodations using our reservation system want to have the booking system appear to be on their website.

Here's an example:

Home page - Luxury Beach Front Accommodation Wilsons Promontory ::: Bear Gully Coastal Cottages
Page with iframe - Check Availability and Rates with our Secure Online Booking System ::: Bear Gully Coastal Cottages

In the old days, we just opened the booking engine in a new window. That worked fine - still does, but when you have the control over the website I prefer to use an iframe.

Why use an iframe? Well, the booking system is not an application running on the website's server, so it must be accessed as an offsite element. Booking Systems are like most shopping carts - they have complex inventory management systems and they use SSL web pages because they take credit cards. You could buy systems and install them on your website, but that is expensive and requires expertise most people don't have. You could try xml, but again that gets complicated. Iframes are just so easy it is better.

I keep the coding pretty simple. I specify the width as a percentage in case they change their website, I set a specific height that will fit the content and I select scrolling="no" so that it looks better.

Here's and example:
<iframe src="http:// requests.bookingcenter.com/enquiry.phtml?port=WRS&source=WEBSITE&site=BEARGUL " frameborder="0" height="1000" scrolling="no" width="95%"></iframe>

Using iframes can also help you with tracking - important for setting goals and conversions. We can put a tracking link in the booking engine to see what happens with Google Analytics. The booking engine may also be linked to many other websites. So it's good to see that people are looking at the booking engine, but not proceeding as well as looking at the points where they drop off along the way towards completing a booking.

[deepsand]

danlefree, here is the page that the block appears in, however since my first post I have tried using another page on the server in which the offsite source loads (container.html) but the problem still persists.

Glisten Orlando Vacation Villa on Lake Berkeley Resort - Villa Availability

and the container page Container

Hm-mm. It's tough to diagnose an illness when the patient wouldn't sit still for an examination.

At the moment, then, I can tell you no more than that it loads fine in IE6 & FF3.5.6 if 3rd Party Cookies are accepted.

[danlefree]

From the FireFox error console:

Error: iFrameHeight is not defined
Source File: http://www.glistenfloridavilla.com/main/container.html
Line: 1

You want to know what's really tricky about that error? It's appearing because you have the iFrameHeight() call in your IFRAME "onload" attribute (I'd suspected there was something happening with that call...) and the container.html file is already wrapped in the /availability.html file's IFRAME.

Your JS functions must be defined within the document that calls them.

May also want to validate - quirksmode and failed JS calls can compound into difficult problems to diagnose.

[kushty]

Thanks for your help guys, I will try your suggestions.