The reason you would want to usa a 'popup' is for contextual information. Usually this is in more of a web application scenario than a website per-se. So you have to think more broadly in the term of website than serving documents with content in them (ala 'surfing'). Contextual information has been used for a looong time in user interfaces. Just think of the numerous desktop applications you use on a daily basis and how they use pop-up windows to either prompt for more data, or provide other useful information.
If you think about these scenarios, it is when the application needs to present something new to you, but do so in a way that you don't lose your context. You don't want to alter the layout of the 'page' for this, because the content may not be directly related, and it can confuse the user from accomplishing their task. Think of complex scenarios such as when your funneling a user through a shopping cart checkout. In these scenarios, you do not want to distract the user in any way from the task, you don't want to confuse them. However, often you might need to collect data on a particular topic related to the checkout process. This is a fantastic time to use contextual windows. They allow the user to answer the question in a way that they can still 'see' or be aware of what they were originally doing, rather than going to another page and losing context. Now the reason 'it's up to the user' bit doesn't apply is because this is an application. The user is already using the application and they are actively engaged in it. Applications are geared to helping the user accomplish a task. Passive browsing is different, and most of the arguments expressed here are great points for that user context. To use another example, imagine a long article on a webpage. You funneled through the navigation and selected your article you are going to invest time to read. The article has a lot of diagrams. This is a good place to use contextual information. Think of a physical book. Ever been anoyed at having to skip ahead or back to find that diagram they referenced? Your annoyed because you lost your context, you lost your place in the text and had to go somewhere else to find the extra information. In a web article, those same diagrams can 'popup' in small windows, and you can view and close them without having to lose your place. This is not possible by sending the user to a whole new webpage. Trust me, user testing would find the contextual scenario much more pleasing. Also remember dial-up users. Loading and reloading that page takes time, even with 'cache'. Viewing the contextual information is much faster if it appears in it's own window. Now you could use DHTML for this. This is a pretty feasible alternative. But it has drawbacks all its own. The issue is not the mechanism for 'popping up', it's the usability of contextual information that is the issue. Remember there are years of history in user experience design for applications, and those tried and true methods don't fall off the face of the planet with a new medium :) Cheers Ryan Nichols Graphic Design / Web Development -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Terrence Wood Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2004 4:20 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [WSG] thoughts of external links in new window? There is a whole plethora of points against opening new windows... I am really curious as to what your usability team, or anybody else, see as the benfits of opening new windows. ./tdw john wrote: > Some of my usability team are telling me that they prefer to have > external links going into a new browser window. I can see why some > would like that, but I can also see why others would frown on it. ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ****************************************************** ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ******************************************************
