HTML Layers & Links

I’m using Dreamweaver 3.0, and am trying to setup a webpage with multiple layers. One of the layers is for a Table Of Contents, which will contain links to all the different data on the site. Another layer is the Main window, where all the data would appear once a user clicked a link in the TOC.

I don’t want to use frames to accomplish this.

I want a user to click a link in one layer, and have that link’s URL display in the other. I have tried using a few different extensions in Dreamweaver to accomplish this, but have thusfar been unsuccessful. Can you assist me?