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tip#8

Launching New Browser Windows

Don't target links to open in a new window (unless, of course, your Site uses frames)! In some browsers, it is not apparent that a second window has been launched—and visitors get confused when the "Back" button doesn't work.

In the case of thumbnail galleries, however, I think it's become an expected and accepted behaviour—opening the full sized images in a new window (so the user does not have to wait for the thumbnails to load again when he returns to this page). If you can't avoid using the target attribute, choose a Transitional DTD. The target attibute is not allowed in XHTML 1.0 Strict.

Most folks agree, non-resizable windows are annoying—disabled toolbars, more annoying still. Please don't tamper with the user's interface!

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