[wp-hackers] Use of _blank in wp-admin

[Alex Günsche]

On Sat, 2008-03-22 at 11:02 +0200, Mahmoud Al-Qudsi wrote:
> One would think that with all the recent standards-based discussion
> and all, WP wouldn't be using target="" attributes on links; but I was
> surprised to find that certain links in the admin center use _blank.

While we're talking about it, I also dislike the usage of
target="_blank" in the admin. Not because it is deprecated, but because
of the reason *why* it is deprecated: Users should be able to decide
themselves whether they want a link to open in the same or another
tab/window. And with current UAs, this is no problem: You don't even
have to select "Open in new tab/window" from the menu, but it is usually
sufficient to click the link with the mouse wheel to open it in a new
tab.

Therefore, I don't need websites to tell me whether I want a link open
in the same or another tab. For example: I'm currently developing a
customers site on a trunk install (in expecting WP 2.5 to be released
soon). I often switch between website and admin frontend and back again.
Sometimes I want it in the same tab, sometimes in a second one. I
especially hate the situations where the admin area links have
target="_blank" attributes, because it leaves me with ten tabs open
after a time, while I'm used to manage my open tabs by clicking either
left button (same tab) or mouse wheel (another one).

If I want a link with target="_blank" to open in the same window, I
cannot do this in Firefox; it doesn't even indicate that it will open in
a new tab. Konqueror luckily indicates it, and it has an option for such
links in the context menu, "open in same tab" -- but this is also
tedious.

Therefore, target="_blank" is a real workflow breaker, at least for me.


Best regards,
Alex

-- 
Alex Günsche, Zirona OpenSource-Consulting
Blogs: http://www.zirona.com/ | http://www.regularimpressions.net
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