[thelist] How do you validate an A link with a "target"?

[niklaus.haldimann at xmedia.ch]

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> From: aardvark [mailto:roselli at earthlink.net]
>
> > From: "rudy" <r937 at interlog.com>
> [...]
> > there are several usability reasons why second windows are bad
>
> you're a tease...
>
> so, what are they?

hi aardvark

i'm not rudy. may i contribute anyway? ;)

i have seen users who cannot handle more than one window on their desktop.
they don't get the principles of multitasking at all. they will close word
before they open outlook and close outlook if they want to get back to word.
they will have all their windows maximized and thus won't realize that a
page opened in a new browser window. when they use the back button and
arrive at the point where the history has been cut off due to the new window
they will think "the back button broke" and go somewhere else.

mind you i haven't seen many of these users, but those few that i saw were
enough to convince me that opening a new browser window is often a Bad
Thing.

if your audience consists mainly of web professionals or other computer
literate folk this isn't an issue of course (those folk will know how to
open a link in a new window by themselves, though - so why force it?). but
if you design for the mass market be careful with new windows.

if i absolutely have to use new windows on such a site (usually because the
client requests it) i try to make it as obvious as possible, ie putting a
little blurb about it close to the link or in the new window.

IMHO hotmail has a very nice solution there. links in emails spawn a new
window with a small hotmail branded frame at the top. the frame contains a
window closing link that says something like "a new window has opened. click
here to go back to hotmail."

cheers,
nik

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Nik Haldimann
Web Developer, Xmedia
http://www.xmedia.ch