[WSG] accessibility - opening new windows philosophy

[Drake, Ted C.]

Hi All   We've had a discussion at work about pdf documents and hijacking the user's browser / making it more user-friendly.  What is the general feeling towards having pdf and other non-html documents open in a new window?   I personally find it annoying to open a pdf document in the native window and having to wait for the reader to load. I usually right-click and open in a new window.  However, I know some people expect that to happen and could lose their place if a bunch of windows are opened.  I would use the _javascript_ approach to avoid using target="_blank". This should avoid the complications of having PDA devices or screen readers attempting to open multiple windows.   So, I told my co-workers that I would throw this out to the standards community.  Try to ignore any bias I may have. I would appreciate any honest feedback about whether we should open new windows for .pdf, .doc, .ppt, xls, .visio, or .whatever.   Thanks     Ted Drake Web & Collaboration Services Science Applications International Corporation 858.826.3856 / 858.826.3336 (fax)