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Re: Open in new window

for

From: Simius Puer
Date: Apr 16, 2010 10:18AM

Hi Nancy

I think you are confusing a "page" and an "application". Opening a new page
(an HTML page) in a new window is bad practice, opening an external
application for a non-HTML file format is correct...the explanation behind
this is covered in Jakob's article linked above.

target="_blank" should never be used as is depreciated - and the JavaScript
alternative should not be used either (there is plenty of discussion on this
in the archives for this mailing list) as this feature was depreciated for a
reason. Circumventing it with JavaScript just to validate is frankly really
dumb practice.

There are keyboard commands to swap between applications built into all
operating systems and most assistive technologies. The point is you should
not open new tabs/windows for HTML content in the first place.

Regarding CMS and your comment "how to write a style sheet to accommodate a
content developer that has little or no understanding of today's best
practices?"...this is a common error and one I come across all the time. To
quote from an article I wrote recently:

…a CMS is *not* just the bit of software you buy. That is just one part of
> the picture - the other part of the picture being the training and
> procedures needed to operate it correctly (*note:* the S in CMS stands for
> System *not* Software!!). 99% of the time this is overlooked or shoved in
> a dusty corner. The software without the training is not a CMS…*it is just
> a bit of software that makes it easier for people who don't know what they
> are doing to make mistakes, to make them faster, easier, more efficiently
> and more damaging to the website/company they are running.*
> **

**
So to answer your question: you don't - you educate the user! The same
goes for restricting the content developers use of target="blank" or other
dire practices...if you want to discuss that further I think it should be a
new thread as we're going off-topic a little ;]

If you are concerned with accessibility in a CMS environment (as any CMS
vendor really *ought* to be) you might be interested in reading the rest of
my article here:
http://www.simiusweb.ie/news/2010_02_10_cms_accessibility_reponsibility.htm