# \[Pro\] link to new tab instead of new window?

**URL:** <https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910>\
**Category:** Freeway\
**Created:** [March 21, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910 "2014-03-21T17:29:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![steve\_farber](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@steve\_farber](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/steve_farber)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/1 "2014-03-21T17:29:56Z")

</div>

I have a customer that wants the links to external pages to open in a new tab instead of a new window. I am using the link to new window action currently. Is this possible?

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![waltd](https://discourse.softpress.com/user_avatar/discourse.softpress.com/waltd/32/2720_2.png) [@waltd](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/waltd)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/2 "2014-03-21T17:32:40Z")

</div>

Whether a new window opens in a tab or a completely different window is largely under the user’s control, through their browser preferences. Exceptions to this include opening a window with JavaScript while passing “size” attributes in that window.open() method. When you specific a size for the window you open, it will become a new window. When you don’t, then the browser gets to choose how this will behave.

Walter

On Mar 21, 2014, at 1:29 PM, steve farber wrote:

> I have a customer that wants the links to external pages to open in a new tab instead of a new window. I am using the link to new window action currently. Is this possible?
> 
> * * *
> 
> freewaytalk mailing list  
> email@hidden  
> Update your subscriptions at:  
> [http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trevor\_Reaveley](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/919ad9/32.png) [@Trevor\_Reaveley](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/Trevor_Reaveley)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/3 "2014-03-21T17:35:35Z")

</div>

Steve, I _think_ this will be a setting in your clients web browser rather than a Freeway specific function. I stand to be corrected…

Trev

On 21 Mar 2014, at 17:29, steve farber [email@hidden](mailto:email@hidden) wrote:

> I have a customer that wants the links to external pages to open in a new tab instead of a new window. I am using the link to new window action currently. Is this possible?

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![steve\_farber](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@steve\_farber](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/steve_farber)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/4 "2014-03-21T17:58:07Z")

</div>

So, opening in a new window or tab is a user’s browser preference. Is that the same for any type of web page build? Or is that something just for Freeway? Do those who build their own code have a way to do it? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![waltd](https://discourse.softpress.com/user_avatar/discourse.softpress.com/waltd/32/2720_2.png) [@waltd](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/waltd)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/5 "2014-03-21T18:03:34Z")

</div>

You can force a new _window_ to open, just by specifying that the opened window have a specific size. But you cannot tell a browser to open a new tab _at all_. Browsers (since the last 5 years or so) have re-mapped the “new window” UX to “new tab”, and recently this has become the default, rather than the expert-user-who-knows-where-the-preferences-pane-is option. But even a browser that has the preference to “open new windows in tabs” set on, either by default or by user action, will open an entirely new window when you tell it to open a window of a particular size.

Walter

On Mar 21, 2014, at 1:58 PM, steve farber wrote:

> So, opening in a new window or tab is a user’s browser preference. Is that the same for any type of web page build? Or is that something just for Freeway? Do those who build their own code have a way to do it? Sorry if this is a dumb question.
> 
> * * *
> 
> freewaytalk mailing list  
> email@hidden  
> Update your subscriptions at:  
> [http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ernie\_Simpson](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/a587f6/32.png) [@Ernie\_Simpson](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/Ernie_Simpson)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/6 "2014-03-21T19:11:10Z")

</div>

> So, opening in a new window or tab is a user’s browser preference. Is  
> that the same for any type of web page build? Or is that something just  
> for Freeway? Do those who build their own code have a way to do it?

In layman’s language, it’s a browser thing - under control of the browser’s  
user. You can set a link to open in a new space - but the user clicking the  
link is the one who chooses whether this is a window or a tab. As  
previously noted, most of the time the default setting on new browsers is  
for tabbed viewing (which I love) so the odds of chance are with you.  
However, if your plans _require_ a new tab, then expect some  
disappointment… statistically, at least.

–  
Ernie Simpson, aka The Big Erns

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![David\_McCallum](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@David\_McCallum](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/David_McCallum)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/7 "2014-03-21T19:56:57Z")

</div>

> In layman’s language, it’s a browser thing - under control of the browser’s user.

Here is that preference in my version of Safari

D

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![steve\_farber](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@steve\_farber](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/steve_farber)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/8 "2014-03-21T23:04:41Z")

</div>

Thank you all for the input. Walt, I have been specifying a window size when I use the link to new window action. What would happen if I didn’t? Would I then be leaving it up to the preferences?

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![steve\_farber](https://discourse.softpress.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@steve\_farber](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/steve_farber)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/9 "2014-03-21T23:08:26Z")

</div>

Hmmm…apparently the action doesn’t allow you to leave those fields blank.

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![waltd](https://discourse.softpress.com/user_avatar/discourse.softpress.com/waltd/32/2720_2.png) [@waltd](https://discourse.softpress.com/u/waltd)\
**Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://discourse.softpress.com/t/pro-link-to-new-tab-instead-of-new-window/19910/10 "2014-03-22T00:01:46Z")

</div>

You can simply use the Target picker in the Hyperlink dialog to do this rather than using the Action. Make a normal link, and in the Hyperlink dialog, choose Target: \_blank (leading underscore is critical here). That will open a new window, but most browsers will open that in a new tab.

Walter

On Mar 21, 2014, at 7:08 PM, steve farber wrote:

> Hmmm…apparently the action doesn’t allow you to leave those fields blank.
> 
> * * *
> 
> freewaytalk mailing list  
> email@hidden  
> Update your subscriptions at:  
> [http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)

* * *

freewaytalk mailing list  
email@hidden  
Update your subscriptions at:  
[http://freewaytalk.net/person/options](http://freewaytalk.net/person/options)