... just a thought here.  If used correctly, the "open in a new window" can
be very effective, especially when viewing details or instructions on how to
do something or additional information on a particular item you are viewing.

I agree that as a rule, they are extremely overused and especially annoying
when they open themselves.  Most notably are almost all of the search
engines that now find it necessary to use this type of tactic.

Thanks,
Keith D Sellars
WebGraffix
www.webgraffix.com

"Making database sites seem easy"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Coats" <thewolves(at)attbi.com>
To: "Andrew McFarland" <aamcf(at)aamcf.co.uk>
Cc: <hwg-basics(at)hwg.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 25, 2002 1:03 PM
Subject: Re: Another W3C strict query


> Andrew McFarland wrote:
>
> > At 21:13 24/05/02 -0500, Pagan Prince wrote:
> >> That is interesting, but how can CSS take over the target attribute?
> >
> > It can't (at least at the moment, and hopefully never will). You can get
> > similar behavior using scripting.
> >
> > I strongly advise against using any target like behavior (unless you are
> > using framesets) though. If users want to open a link in a new window,
> > they can do it themselves. Forcing a new window to be opened is bad
> > manners, and an accessibility and usability problem.
>
>
>
> Yeah? Visit a number of sites and open links in new windows by
> right-clicking and selecting "open in new window". You'll be surprised
> at how often it won't work. If the link is a javascript call, "open in
> new window" usually doesn't work. This is true if it's coded as
> "href=javascript:..." (which you can tell in advance), but it's also
> true if there's an onclick (which you can't tell in advance). When you
> use "open in new window," you'll get a new window opened OK, but you
> don't get what you expect in that new window!
>
> I find this very frustrating, because I often use "open in new window".
> If I'm not done with the current and and expect to do something else
> with it, I always use "open in new window". It's just easier than going
> off to another page and then trying to find my way back later.
>
> Unfortunately, most sites don't tend to let you know what type of link
> any of the links are. Until you click on the link, you don't know
> whether the link is going to open in a new window or whether it will
> open in the current window. And you usually can't tell in advance
> whether or not "open in new window" will work. Very frustrating!
>
> A really well-designed site will have some way of designating links that
> open in new windows, as well as some way of designating links for which
> "open in new window" won't work. I've seen a few sites that do the
> former, but I've never run across one that does the latter!
>
> Larry Coats
>
>
>
>
>

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