On Aug 25, 2005, at 11:24 AM, Drake, Ted C. wrote:
Regardless of your window philosophy, I think using target="top" is
asking
for trouble. That is a common target for pages with frames. I would
at least
suggest using a target name that is not part of the frame
architecture. That
is why most people used target=_blank".
target="_blank" will always open a new unnamed window.
target="_top" will open a link in the outermost frame, replacing all
framesets with the document linked to.
target="_parent" will replace the frameset that defines the frame
that has the clicked link, replacing it with the document being
linked to.
target="top" will open a window named "top"; if the current window is
already named "top" (e.g., it had been opened with such a link), then
a new window will not open but instead the document linked to will
replace the document with the link in that same window.
The problem with target="top" is not that it uses a confusing name,
but that all links on the site will open into the same window. This
means that the typical experience is that the first link opens a new
window, and subsequent links open into the same window and if it is
minimized or hidden, clicking the link will appear to have done
nothing at all.
So, regardless of your window-opening philosophy, the standards allow
for two methods that are consistantly applied:
1- link replaces current document (no target or js new window)
2- link always opens new window (target="_blank" or js equivalent
with unnamed window, e.g., window.open(this.href,'',winOptions);)
Anything else, and the behavior depends on the context the link is
in, possibly meaning that your icons or title text are giving wrong
information.
--
Ben Curtis : webwright
bivia : a personal web studio
http://www.bivia.com
v: (818) 507-6613
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