i like it as long as new pages open in new tabs of my FF.

It breaks the continuity of the surfing experience. Who wants a bunch of extra windows open? (Or tabs?)

I'm guilty of using them from time to time, but try to use them very sparingly.

My biggest argument is in terms of usability. New users often don't realize a new window has been opened. If they're surfing with the browser at full-screen then often you're breaking their back button. I still get calls from people insisting that their browser's back button won't work when it was just another inconsiderate webmaster using the target in their links again.

If you set your DTD to XHTML Strict then there is no more target allowed. I think they did that on purpose. ;)

Depends. Off site I usually set to open in a new window since these are often links to such things as manufacturers PDF spec sheets etc.

Onsite never.

Yes, it's offsite I am talking about.

Thanx for bringing this up BBW! = I was just musing about this yesterday. I want the links on my site to open in new windows, for the most part (even some of the internal ones.). I wasn't sure if objections i've come across are important or why. I guess you all think it's an esthetic issue. Good. Because i keep a thumb & forefinger on the command /click, & command / w keys all the time. I couldn't bear surfing 2-12 hrs a day otherwise.
For me, in IE, safari or firefox, navigating websites using the backbutton either on the page or on the browser bar is a real pain. Sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes it does, but not until i click it 2 or 3 times, then, sometimes, it jumps 2 or 3 pages. I've always preferred opening & closing links in new windows, for alot of reasons. Another is that it's quicker. Dragging the cursor around gets to be a pain even just using one finger on a touchpad. Worse w/a mouse.
Designing based on these personal feelings, 2 of my 3 sites, w/ text full of links on one, & lists of links on the other, would be a royal pain, i think, for visitors to navigate w/buttons.
There are some problems using 'command/ w' on a stack of windows though ( like sudden crashes in both safari & firefox, at least ), And i haven't fooled with tabbed browsing much. Anyway, i was a total novice not too long ago at all, but i took to opening links in a new window right away, as soon as i learned the keystroke.
So speaking strictly as a surfer, i appreciate the target thing. - but i guess there's gotta be surfers out there who have a need for such a link to not open in a new window. Gee, what's the key combo for that?

I will do it if it is offsite, a PDF, and sometimes audio.

If you understand what it does to the user experience, you will understand why it is a good thing sometimes.

You will also want to read up on the "focus" and "blur" commands in javascript if you are going to be using "target".

Would it not be possible for the browser developers to fix the Back button problem by having the back button default to whichever screen opened the new window/tab originally.

Would it not be possible for the browser developers to fix the Back button problem by having the back button default to whichever screen opened the new window/tab originally.

Unless I am misunderstanding you wouldn't this mean that the user would be left with two windows opened at the same page?

... while also closing the second window/tab which was opened.

If browsers displayed a different icon for links that open in a new window that would be then end of much confusion.

What really bugs me is when links open in a named window that already exists - for some reason, browsers don't bother to bring the window to the front - totally barking mad!

Kaled.

Would it not be possible for the browser developers to fix the Back button problem by having the back button default to whichever screen opened the new window/tab originally. ... while also closing the second window/tab which was opened.

That sounds like a GREAT Firefox extension!

I often see references to links that open pages in new windows (target="_blank") as being realy bad.

I generally like it. For example, a few minutes ago I was reading a post on WW and it had a URL. I followed the URL to an external site and would have much rather it opened in a new window.

However, when navigating within a site, I want the current window to be used.

In short, my personal preference as a user is for:

Same site. Same window. New site. New window.

Matt

It can be done in the same site, for example when is offered extra information.
This is actualy a problem of design....

There might be a problem if the new window has a Form which the user fills in, and then decides to click the Back to check something before returning to complete the form - could the data be preserved?

New windows and / or tabs drive me nuts, so I use Tabmix Plus and a greasemonkey script so it never happens to me unless I choose to middle click.

I ran a poll on one of my sites though and offsite links in a new window won by a very slim margin.

What I ended up doing was setting offsite in a new window by default with a checkbox to change that setting if a visitor feels the way I do about them. The preference was saved in a cookie so it worked for that visitor through the entire site.

Seemed to keep everyone happy, no more emails are arriving with complaints for either side :)

I seldom use it.
If so my specs are:
Width and height never over +/- 400 * 500
and only with a large header specifying "....close window... etc.."

Most of the time my intention is to display some in depth supplementary info

LunaC - BBW asked what people think about new windows from links. I wrote that i like them, You say you don't. I need to know this too. Have any detailst any on this? What drives you nuts w/ new windows? What are you doing most of the time? Using dial-up, broadband? No one has raised any technical or usability issues so far. It seems to be a personal thing. Lets compare notes. It will sure help me designing my sites to be able to understand how my visitors might see things differently from me.

My personal preference: If I want the link opened in a new window, I'll right-click and choose "new window" (or "new tab"). Otherwise, the link should open where I am.

If you want a link on your site (especially a link leaving your site) to open in a new window, you might want to note, parenthetically, that "this link will open in a new window", so the user has fair warning.

Just my opinion; I could be wrong....

Eliz.

IMO the main consideration is that a same-window link accommodates both preferences. Opening a link in a new window is fairly trivial in any browser, and most people know how to do this (although they may not actually do it much).

What I can't stand is overly scripted sites that break this ability, by (a) disabling the right-click, or (b) using a Javascript event that doesn't work with right-click.

I think this is one of those times context dicates usage.

If a link occurs in a block of text and jumping to that link would 'intrude' on the experience of reading the block of text then the link should open in a new page.

If the link may take a long time to load (pdf, unreliable external site, etc) it should open in a new window.

If the link diverges too much from from the current topic in the content then it should open in a new window - plus you should be asking why on earth you're linking it in the first place.

commanderW, I'm on broadband and it's not that it's slower or anything it's just that if I don't see that it opened a new window it annoys me for that slipt second when the back gesture doesn't work. I figure it out fast but that moment of not seeing and knowing exactly whats happening annoys the heck out of me.

It's mostly just a personal preference. If I click out of a site and it opens a new tab / window, it's irritating to have to flip over to close the one I was leaving.. and when I do that I lose the convenience of the back list. (Yeah, I know there's history, and yes I do use extensions to keep better details about sessions and closed tabs, but it just adds more effort that was never required if it had just opened the link where I'd wanted.)

I've watched a lot of newbies using the web as well, and they often get confused by new windows and often can't find there way back. Closing the browser is counter intuitive to find where they had been. They aren't expecting the other window to be beneath.

Another group is the disabled communities, blind readers from what I hear don't often react well to new windows. I haven't tested them, but it seems like it could be an issue.

For me it comes down to a strong personal preference, I know many people feel differently, but the browser not doing as I expect drives me up the wall. That's why I choose to use a script to block it from happening, and use target alert to give a quick visual clue if the link isn't just a normal path to a new page (ie. a new window is opened, a pdf, email etc.).

I'm ok with small resized pop ups onclick, those often make sense so I allow those through. Like I said though, this is just a strong personal preference. Luckily I know how to alter my browser to work exactly as I like it to. Not everyone else knows how, or bothers to take the time to though.

With all that said though, I often do middle click links to open a new tab if I want to continue where I was after browsing the other content, but I really believe that should be a visitors choice.