I've figured out how to use the HTML Insert to get a "To Top" and "Back" button to remain in a fixed position on screen while a user scrolls up or down. Here's the code so folks can understand what I'm getting at:

<a style="display:scroll;position:fixed;bottom:5px;right:5px;" href="#" title="To Top">To Top</a>
<a style="display:scroll;position:fixed;top:120px;right:20px; href="#"  
<input type=button value="Back" onClick="history.go(-1)"></a>

Is there a technique to have the same effect with the header and sidebars, that is the centre content could be scrolled up or down, but the header and sidebars (and ideally the footer) would remain fixed on screen.

I understand this is normally done with iFrames, but I'm thinking that if it works for a button, why not a larger element?

That should be doable *somehow* but it may prove to be quite hard due to the layout technique being used in Atahualpa (table with colgroup that behaves like a DIV, just without the fragility), which is quite robust, which is an advantage most of the time (i.e. no dropping sidebars) but may prevent a few sophisticated (and often shaky) things. I've done something with jQuery that keeps an iframe's height at 100% if you want to go that route.

Naw about the jquery. I don't have any real concern about it. I'm already doing more with WP than the tech gurus tell me is wise so I'd best not get further in over my head <chuckle>.

For anyone interested, I'm going from the site you will find at securesurfing.org to the as-yet no-indexed and not promoted securesurfing.net. The .net version is obviously the Atahualpa install and the organization is very incomplete along with missing a couple of hundred pages still to be transitioned. But the .org version is all netobjects fusion which requires way too much time for upkeep as well as requiring a creative designer which I can't afford since the whole project is revenue negative <laugh>. It really is ugly. WP w/ Atahualpa is much more forgiving of my lack of talent in that area.