Forum links, open in new window?

    Hey, quick forum question, almost all forums I visit have it set that external links open in a new window(tab). Mapcore does not do this, so whenever I click on a link(because 98% of the time I'll forget to right click-open in new tab), after viewing the page I'll just close that tab, and then think.. wait where the hell did mapcore go!? Then I have to backtrack until I find where I left off on mapcore.

    Basically, can we have external links pop up in a new window? I'm pretty sure mapcore was setup like that before the switch over to the new system. Voice your opinions, so Mojo can ignore them and make his own decision

    This was an intentional decision on the part of the phpBB team, with the reasoning being that opening links in a new window is a browser function provided by middle clicking the links. By making both the left and middle buttons open the links in new windows, suddenly you have a duplicate function (ie: the ability to open links in the same window with a single click is lost).

    This does make sense, but I also agree that it does break forum conventions somewhat and so for the time being it may be best if the original style returns. However, the HTML that makes links open in new windows (target="") was actually deprecated and is no longer present in XHTML (that this forum is designed to validate to), so I'll have to implement a Javascript alternative at some point during the next day or so. If I can, I'll make it a per-user profile setting. No promises, though.

    wow i've never used middle click in web site navigation before. Pretty weird. Is there an option in phpBB to switch the mouse commands, so middle-click would open in the same window and left click would behave normally? I'd think that most people would rather have it that way. It seems silly that they'd change the left click instead of just implementing the open-in-same into the new button.

    There is a mod for phpBB called "Prime Links" that checks if the url is an external link or not. If it's external, it opens in a new window, otherwise (pointing to another page that "belongs" to http://www.mapcore.net) the page loads in the current window.

    I don't really like links opening in new windows/tabs. When I want a new one, I just use middle-click, as Bicball mentioned (but yes, it's annoying if the user is not used to the "middle click").

    Fergo

    That seems like a better way than me dicking around with a custom solution. I'll look into that tonight.

    If in the future I have time to adapt or find one that lets you set it on a per-user basis I'll do so.

    I am so used to right clickling and selecting "new window" or "new tab" that I don't care. The middle button is like giving that the middle finger. Where is our :middlefinger: emoticon?

    Anyway, I did notice that too, Twiz, but I guess I got over it. I now am OK with how the Mapcore forums operate, though if there is a customizable setting that users can control, that would be best it seems.

    I've opted to leave the links as they are for now because the majority of people seem to be OK with it, and I don't want to make sweeping changes if everyone's gotten used to it. If there's more demand I'll give it a second look.

    I've intentionally avoided core file mods like Prime Links requires as they can complicate upgrading the forums, which is another important factor. I didn't realise Prime Links required you to do that, but it does.

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