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Re: opening new browser windows?

for

From: Jared Smith
Date: Nov 6, 2003 2:31PM

In response to several of the comments regarding new browser windows:

> Any new window is bad.

On this point, perhaps we can agree to disagree. From an instructional
standpoint, WebAIM has chosen to provide external resources in new
browser windows. Yes, we alert the user to the new window within the
link label. No, we do not rely wholly on the unsupported TITLE tag. Yes, we
use javascript to open the new window, but if javascript is disabled,
the link works normally. The href of the link points to the target
page, but is overridden by the javascript, if enabled. The spawned
window is a standard browser with all toolbars, menus, etc. Check any of
the WebAIM pages to see our approach, which I believe to be a very
effective method as verified through screen reader testing. I'll post a
snippet of code below.

> I think the guideline is quite clearly worded "do not cause pop-ups
> or other windows to appear"

This is the WCAG guideline, which perhaps, we have knowingly subverted. Our
goal is accessibility, not only only compliance with the outdated and
rather ambiguous guidelines. Our choice in opening the new windows was
also to help achieve increased usability and instructional soundness
(something that many might argue with, but I'll stand by it).
Javascript was used to reach xhtml strict compliance.

> Changing the current window or popping up new windows can be very
> disorienting to users who cannot see that this has happened.

Indeed. Yet alerting them to the fact seems to alleviate the
problems. The assumption that a pop-up window is fundamentally confusing to a
screen reader user is false. Just as sighted users have learned to
deal with pop-ups (I counted 6 in the last 10 minutes of Google
searching on this matter), screen reader users have as well. It
typically takes but a moment for a screen reader user to determine
that they have arrived in a pop-up window, at which time it takes a
key press to close the window or move to the original one. When
alerted, returning from any supplemental content in a pop-up window to
the original page is as quick as the user can press ALT+TAB or ALT+F4.
This approach often provides a more effective 'information architecture'
than requiring the user to backtrack a step at a time to the point of
origin.

Still, the decision to use pop-up windows must be taken seriously and
with much research and consideration, despite the opinions and
standards of others.

Pop-up window code:
<a href="somepage.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;">Link label
<img src="new_window.gif" alt="opens in a new window" title="opens in a new window" width="24" height="12" /></a>

NOTE: We are currently reviewing the use of onclick and onkeypress as
referenced in my other recent post.

Jared Smith
WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind)
Center for Persons with Disabilities
Utah State University


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