Most users of assistive technology prefer not having to deal with multiple browser windows, especially unannounced ones. It's a spatial orientation issue. Keeping focus on multiple windows is often problematic for people with visual impairments.
Finally, alternative user agents may not support multiple screen windows, and/or older machines may experience a performance hit if running multiple browser windows.
If a client insists on having a link open in a new window, I would suggest explicitly warning the user with a clear indication that the page will open in a different window. Also it is a good idea to provide a title attribute with a description indicating that the link opens a new window.
Some references: http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/usability#popups
Laura ___________________________________________ Laura L. Carlson Information Technology Systems and Services University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN 55812-3009 http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/webdesign/ ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/
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