HTML Open Link in New Window

You can use the HTML code on this page to force a link to open in a new window.

Example

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As the above example demonstrates, to open a link in a new window, you simply add target="_blank" to the anchor tag. Everything else stays as a normal link.

If you have many links, and you add target="_blank" to each one, they will all open in their own blank window. This could become quite annoying for the user—especially if you have many links that each open in their own tab or window. Users could avoid clicking on links if a blank window opens every time they click.

There is a way to overcome this issue. Read on…

Reloading the Blank Window/Tab

Instead of calling your window _blank, you can give it a name of your choosing. Then all URLs will load in that same tab (as long as you use the same name).

For example, if you have a policy of loading all external links in a separate tab, you could call that tab, say, external. Then each link that contains target="external" will open in that window/tab. Doing this ensures that new windows aren't going to be popping up every time a user clicks on a link.

Here's an example of what happens when you use target="_blank" for all links:

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And here are the same links but with target="external" (but this could be any name you choose):

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There are other keywords that can be used with target as well as various implications depending on the names of windows/tabs that are already open, whether they're sandboxed, etc. See the W3C website if you're interested.

Creating a "Popup Window"

You can also use JavaScript to open a new window. Using JavaScript, you can also specify what the window should look like. This is a common technique for creating a "popup window". For more info, see Popup Windows.

More Link Codes

You can do much more with HTML links. Here are more HTML link codes - each one catering for a specific purpose.