I am currently working on a web-based mail application. The frame that shows the list of emails has an iFrame in it. So that you can scroll the through the list, but the header that shows the column names stays stationary as does the footerbar that has a "Check all" checkbox and two drop down lists that contain actions. The action drop downs contain actions like "move selected to Saved" or "Mark checked as read". The root of the problem is that the email list and the other form elements used for actions are on seperate html files, since the email list is in an iFrame. We can easily use the drop down lists or the "check all" checkbox to send actions to the actual list page that is in the iFrame, but if the user has checked any emails then they will be lost when the page gets reloaded with the action command from the other page.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make this work?