On Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:34:06 -0700, Robert wrote:
>I'm looking for actual, legitimate research on the usability of opening
>links in new windows. I've found several articles based entirely on
>assumptions ("users are likely to...", "some users may..."), but nothing
>from an actual usability study performed in the past couple of years since
>tabbed browsing has become prevalent in the major browsers.
>I know the answer is "it depends", because there are certainly going to be
>exceptions to whatever the general best practice may be, but any actual data
>from usability research would be better than the articles I've found.
Robert, I can talk from the perspective of research that we've done,
but I can't provide you with reports.
One type of new window that we know is OK is the informational popup
that is user-initiated. If there's some unavoidable jargon or other
content that needs explanation, we may explain it in a 'what's this?'
popup.
We do know from what people have told us that new windows opening
unexpectedly annoys many people and can be confusing.
The principle that we (usually) follow is that links to external sites
open in a new window, as this maintains the context of our site. This
turns out to be sufficiently good reason to overcome the
unexpectedness problem.
I don't think we've tested opening new windows on the same site, and
this is where we make assumptions in line with your reading, that it's
not (usually) a good idea. It doesn't mean it's never a good idea
though.
* Nick Gassman - Usability and Standards Manager - http://ba.com *
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