But no message (results message) exists until one of the routines updating the database files is executed. After that the results are available for loading into the iframe.

User clicks on button to do some processing. When a routine finishes, a window message is sent to calling form to get the results loaded into the iframe. There is nothing to load when the iframe is instantiated when the jala_AdminCore.htm is displayed. The buttons are there only for testing to make sure the functions perform as intended.

The onload is placed into the html that is returned by the cgi code code run when you pres s the button

User clicks on button to do some processing.

doesnt that call a cgi script? that does the processing? It would be rather strange for the javascript to call a process that runs on the users machine rather then on the server where the database lives

When a routine finishes

Doesnt routine that send back html to the iframe? it is in that html that the onload runs

Doesnt routine that send back html to the iframe? it is in that html that the onload runs

What you are sayimg or asking is not clear to me

When the routine in the script finishes, it has the response information in variables. When the cgi is interrogated for the response, it creates an html form which includes the response and sends it back to be displayed in the iframe.

Gad it takes me time to work out the bugs in this stuff.