[Rich]

Hello,
I think I have got it just fine. I think it may be you that have missed what I am trying to do, or perhaps me for not explaining it better. Either way, your method is only good if I were going to leave all the blocks like that or in that position. otherwise, as I move them around, I need to go in and "hardcode" the widths again to make them match.

That I could have done from the beginning. I am not interested in hardcoding widths. I want these blocks to expand and contract just as if there were no borders around them at all.

Without the borders, every block is evenly spaced. It doesn't matter where i move it, it automatically resizes itself to accomodate the spacing. i don't need to edit anything so this happens, it just does.

What I was working on is the code that I wrote corrected so that once it is written and applied to each block, it will automatically resize to look just like the cmps page does when they are not installed.

With your code, I need to set the width for each block. that means that if I move a block, I need to go in and manually set the new width.

I don't want to do that. I know this code can be written so it will do what I am asking. I just haven't figured it out yet. lol

Due to your use of a specific size image on the sides you must code those cells to remain that width. basically.. the cells containing the 20 pixel wide image need to always be 20 pixels wide or the appearance breaks.

There are 8 images that make up the cell structure plus the empty middle cell. There are 4 corners, and 4 middles. (left right top bottom) The middles were written to "fill" the cell if the length is longer or shorter. They adjust with the block. I don't see how the 20 pixel set sides have anything to do with this. The width of them is 20. The code can go as far and high as it wants and the sides will not be effected niether will the corners. That is where you lost me with your explanation. The corners are set at 20 wide, so they align with the sides. If the top and bottom need to expand to 100 pixels, they are ok. The sides are the same way. Right up through the corners, the 20 pixel set is there. They can extend upward as much as they want and at no point have I had a break in the images.

What I need to know is how I can surround the blocks with images, but they will auto expand and contract to the column they are in automatically. If these blocks were coded as default, how would they have been written in so that every block was surrounded with the cells, but they look just like the stock cmps? Perhaps that is clearer for what it is I am looking for.

I want to have one set of code that I can apply to each block, and they will all align up with each other bother vertically, and horizontally. If a block from one of the sides is moved into the middle, I want it to expand to the width of the other blocks in the middle automatically.
If a block from the center is placed on the side, I want it to line up and be the same width as the other blocks on that side.

I used the section of code you have written for the yada yada yada on the left hand side, and placed 2 left hand side modules in it. They did not line up. The navigation module and the polls module had different widths. The polls module stuck out closer to the center blocks than the navigation module did. The navigation module should have adjusted itself to remain the same width as the widest block in that column. Your code didn't do that. So I think "I got it" in regards to having to physically assign the widths. But that isn't what I am looking for. Thank you though.

I would love to hear if you know how to write the one code bit that will do what I am asking.

Basically, it seems like it needs to read the outside edge of the widest block, and then adjust to that width.