How many browser windows would you like?

Over the last 6 months, we received some contradictory feedback regarding where the MPG/SFX server should open the options offered in the service menu (e.g. the link to the electronic full text). Currently, a click on a service name opens a new browser window to load the external location. All links use a named target window, thus whenever you choose another service, this should open in the same window.

From our users’ feedback we learned that this preference is not shared by everyone. Some users suggested to open a new window with each click, while others requested that SFX shouldn’t open new browser windows at all. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to follow the experts’ recommendation ("Place users in control") in this case, because the MPG/SFX menu does not contain "real" hypertext links. Instead, clicking a service name submits a web form which calls a script to generate the appropriate target URL according to the information available. Therefore, well known browser short cuts (like the context menu) are not available to the experienced user.

However, we want to match the user’s expectation and therefore consider to offer various options. An example is available on the MPG/SFX test instance (check the additional buttons new and “blank”).

Any thoughts or feedback is highly appreciated….

2 thoughts on “How many browser windows would you like?”

  1. @robert: thanks for your comment. The first button opens a named window (target="newwin"). Thus whenever you select another service from the MPG/SFX menu, this should open in the same window. The second button creates a new window in any case (target="_blank") and therefore does not restrict the number of windows. Anyway, it looks like the current implementation is not very distinct.

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