James Gollan wrote:
Lachlan Hunt wrote:
Ian Anderson wrote:
Lachlan Hunt wrote:
I think generalisations like "users hate popup windows" are perhaps a
little unhelpful.
But the statement is 100% accurate...
It may be technically 100% accurate, but in that case so is the
statement "users hate it when a new site opens in the current window and
takes them away from the site they were viewing". It only takes 2 users
to make this true. And these 2 users may also be annoyed :)
True, but such users can only be annoyed with themselves for failing to
understand how to use their browser in a way that gives the results they
want; not with the author for failing to meet their specific
requirements, which will very likely differ significantly between every
user.
I am not a pop-up advocate, I think it's best to clearly identify
external links but open them in the current window. I do, however,
wonder about the number of users that actually know that they can
override the browser and open a link in a new window.
I'm sure there are many that don't know how to open a new tab/window,
but I'm sure there are many, many more that don't know how to prevent a
new tab or window. This is, perhaps, a browser usability issue, but it
should be addressed by the browser vendors, not web page authors.
--
Lachlan Hunt
http://lachy.id.au/
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