WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Open in new window

for

From: deblist
Date: Apr 13, 2010 9:39AM

Dan Conley wrote:
> I had thought the general consensus was to never open in a
> new window because that information isn't always presented to users

There is a difference between forcing a browser page to open in a
new window, and forcing non-HTML to open in a new window versus an
embedded app. (Can you even do that? At the HTML level, can you
say "open this PDF document directly in Acrobat reader, ignoring
any embedded application?" Won't telling the PDF to open in a new
window just open it in a new window or tab with the embedded
application?)

Even as a non-screen reader user, I find information opening in
new windows or tabs to be confusing; they aren't always announced
to me *visually*.

My preference as both a user and a web designer is to indicate
after links if they are non-HTML content (usually PDF, but also
if they go directly to a video or somesuch) so that the user can
choose whether and how to open the link.

-deborah