Help2Go.com

Open web page in new window or new tab?
by Oscar Sodani
March 18, 2006
Something that used to urk me quite a bit was when you would click a link on a web site, and it would open the link in a new browser window rather than the one you are in. I find it even more annoying now that I use Firefox, since with Firefox all the web sites I look at are in a single window, separated by tabs.

As a webmaster, I understand why the practice is done. When you are linking to a site other than your own, you want the user to keep his/her own place in your site, otherwise you might lose that visitor. In fact, Help2Go's links to external sites all open up in a new window (shame on me!)

Firefox has a way around this, however, and it is one of my favorite features:

  • In Firefox, click on the Tools menu and choose Options.
  • In the Options box, choose Tabs.
  • Check the box next to "Force links that open new windows to open in:"
  • Choose the "a new tab" option.
  • Then hit OK.
From now on, all sites that open links in new windows will open up in a new tab instead. It's also handy for sites that open up a pop-up window - many times these pop-up windows will be in tabs as well. It makes for a much less annoying browsing experience!

Discuss this article: Firefox: Open in new tab Discussion