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Posted by Gιrard Talbot on 05/23/07 18:46
Beauregard T. Shagnasty wrote :
> Try using a small icon at the end of the link indicating what can be
> done. Try something like wikipedia does.
May I recommend the icons at the bottom of section 7.2.3
"Always identify links which will create (or will re-use) a new,
secondary window"
http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/DOM:window.open#Always_identify_links_which_will_create_.28or_will_re-use.29_a_new.2C_secondary_window
>> Many do not know how/why/what about the right click thus I see
>> target="_blank" as an advantage for them but also see resulting
>> disadvantages.
>
> Several times I've been watching over the shoulder of a clue-impaired
> user, and said, "Why don't you right-click that link and ..." and they
> reply with, "Huh? Right-click?" So I show them.
>
>> Many don't know about the browser "back" function either.
>
> I would say that there are two things even the most clueless surfers
> know about:
> 1. How to click on a link (so long as it is underlined)
> 2. What the Back button does.
>
> ..but if ... they get a new window, and are surfing maximized, they do
> not realize a new window is completely covering the original, and .. the
> Back button does nothing!
Correct!
"(...) Users often don't notice that a new window has opened, especially
if they are using a small monitor where the windows are maximized to
fill up the screen. So a user who tries to return to the origin will be
confused by a grayed out Back button."
Jakob Nielsen, The Top Ten New Mistakes of Web Design: 2. Opening New
Browser Windows, May 30, 1999
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990530.html
> Oh, let's go to Google and find something
> else to look at.
"(...) some people can use Windows applications for years without
understanding the concept of task switching. (When I point to the task
bar and ask them what it's for, they can't tell me.) (...) spawning
second browser windows can completely throw users off track because it
removes the one thing they are sure how to use: the 'Back' button.(...)
In another recent study, six out of 17 users had difficulty with
multiple windows, and three of them required assistance to get back to
the first window and continue the task."
Carolyn Snyder, Seven tricks that Web users don't know: 7. Second
browser windows, June 2001
http://www.snyderconsulting.net/article_7tricks.htm#7
"Research shows that most users don't like to run more than one
application at a time. In fact, many users are confused by multiple
applications."
Windows User Experience team,
Microsoft Windows User Experience Frequently Asked Questions: Why is the
taskbar at the bottom of the screen?,
March 2001
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms997581.aspx#winuifaq_topic2
More at:
Popup windows and Firefox
http://www.gtalbot.org/FirefoxSection/Popup/PopupAndFirefox.html
GΓ©rard
--
Using Web Standards in your Web Pages (Updated Apr. 2007)
http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Using_Web_Standards_in_your_Web_Pages
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