I would like to make a div that covers the entire page. I put a css style with height:100% but this covers only the viewable area. I want it to also cover the area when I
Use position:fixed this way your div will remain over the whole viewable area continuously ..
give your div a class overlay and create the following rule in your CSS
.overlay{
opacity:0.8;
background-color:#ccc;
position:fixed;
width:100%;
height:100%;
top:0px;
left:0px;
z-index:1000;
}
Demo: http://www.jsfiddle.net/TtL7R/1/