web links opening in new page

neil · **Joined:** Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:50 pm **Posts:** 944

Hi. I clicked on forest records from the forest homepage and it opened in a new window. Just wanted to point out that this is bad practice in web design. If you're going to open a new window for someone you should have a damn good reason. Otherwise, you should let them keep things in the same window and use the back button if they want to go back. (A lot of people get very confused if a now window opens automatically. They don't realise it's happened and they don't know how to get back to the page they came from)

swithun · **Joined:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:24 am **Posts:** 2454

Time to go Jakob Nielsen on these tumblweeds. Pages should only open by default in a new tab/window if they are needed while doing something on the page they were spawned from, e.g. instructions for filling in a form. The rest of the time, if people want a new tab/window, they can hold down Ctrl or something. Or, use some indication that the link will open a new tab/window, so at least people know it will happen.

How does the site look/behave on an iPhone, by the way? If you don't have a tab bar (to maximise screen real estate), then new tabs/windows might be confusing.

chris · **Posted:** Thu Apr 01, 2010 4:54 pm

interesting points.

I think its pretty standard that links that leave a site open in a new page. Most other sites do this (guardian, ). The funny thing is that these external sites are still forest, so there is an argument to be had there...

I personally prefer new windows to open in this type of circumstance, ie. when the "on page navigation" changes which is the case with these external sites..

Either way, we can change this if thats whats wanted. I don't feel super strong about it. i doubt my above points change your opinion!

Chris zxx

neil · **Joined:** Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:50 pm **Posts:** 944

chris wrote:

its pretty standard that links that leave a site open in a new page

not true!

chris wrote:

Most other sites do this (guardian, )

they shouldn't!

chris wrote:

i doubt my above points change your opinion!

correct!

swithun wrote:

How does the site look/behave on an iPhone, by the way?

fine on iPhone. Mobile safari has up to 8 pages/tabs (treats them as the same thing). It's still annoying when a site opens a new one & you didn't tell it to.

chris · **Posted:** Thu Apr 01, 2010 5:16 pm

whoa!

the patented jane/shannon attack approach!

well unless someone steps in, in defence of the "new page", i'll switch it soonish...

neil · **Joined:** Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:50 pm **Posts:** 944

cool, jane is always right!

Gaz · **Joined:** Sat Apr 09, 2005 7:24 am **Posts:** 1373

Quote:

Time to go Jakob Nielsen on these tumblweeds

Not knowing who this was I did the ol' google on this guy.

Just looking at some pictures now and I must say he does look strangely familiar...

chris · **Posted:** Thu Apr 01, 2010 7:39 pm

chombee · **Joined:** Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:01 pm **Posts:** 1327

Just recently PMed Chris some hot Nielsen action regarding the scrolliness debate:

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/scrolling-attention.html

P.S. best thread in ages

milk · **Posted:** Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:09 pm

new window links, eek! from the same site, #1 & #2.

n.b. one can set firefox to force new window links to load as new tabs if they'd so like.

Shannon · **Posted:** Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:10 pm

I wonder if Jane is in favour of web links opening in new pages?

chris · **Posted:** Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:37 pm

due to popular demand i have changed it..

but i do think its bullshit.

the article milk cites:

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990530.html

is from 1999, when almost no-one knew how to use the internet, and browser 'tabs' did not really exist in a nice way. these kind of links would actually open a new browser window - which i agree is incredibly annoying. Opening new tabs, i find real good, as i explain earlier.

nope, that still wont convince you, i can see that.. luckiily i care little on this issue. its probably cos i am a power user that i like it!

Chris xx

Gaz · **Joined:** Sat Apr 09, 2005 7:24 am **Posts:** 1373

J-Dawg seems to be saying 'no' now?!
This is all so confusing

chris · **Posted:** Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:57 pm

frankly, he doesnt know if he is coming or going!

swithun · **Joined:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:24 am **Posts:** 2454

Erk. That will be me in a few years. For a guy who's big on usability, why does he have 3 button cuffs?

Jane · **Joined:** Thu Sep 16, 2004 2:10 pm **Posts:** 1557

best thread ever.

pages opening in new windows = evil (especially as a mac hot corners user)
pages opening in new tabs = ok but not preferable

I normally have about six tabs open anyway when I'm faffing around between bb/facebook/yahoomail/googlemail/guardian/pornblogs and I don't need any more enforced, things would get really messy if each of the sites I was looking at did that. I think the choice should be in the hands of the user as to whether they want to keep the page they have navigated from open, and if they do they can do control/command click instead, it shouldn't be the default option. Also, it's not really leaving to an external site really, not from the users side of things, just from ours because we know they're different sites.

now, a question: is there any way to work in open office where opening a new document opens as tabs rather than new windows. And if not, why not?

xxx

Forest BB

web links opening in new page

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