Open links in new window problem

[Greengo]

Support Request Template
What version of phpBB are you using? phpBB 3.0.10
What is your board's URL? www.derrycitychat.com
Who do you host your board with? Site5
How did you install your board? I used the download package from phpBB.com
What is the most recent action performed on your board? Update from a previous version of phpBB3
Is registration required to reproduce this issue? Yes
Do you have any MODs installed? Yes
What version of phpBB3 did you update from? phpBB 3.0.9
What MODs do you have installed? Unified Mod Install Library
What styles do you currently have installed? Milky Way Red
What language(s) is your board currently using? English
Which database type/version are you using? I Don't Know
What is your level of experience? Comfortable with PHP and phpBB
What username can be used to view this issue? candy cane
What password can be used to view this issue? reddevil1
When did your problem begin? When I updated from 2 to 3
Please describe your problem. When my users try to open links it opens in the same window. I have tried the KB to change the php settings but most times it is never able to find the lines that need replaced. I'm not sure if this is related to the style I am using but I do know that this worked fine when I was using earlier versions of my BB.
My users complain that they have to re-navigate back to my board when opening a new link.
Generated by SRT Generator

[Oyabun1]

There are at least a couple of MODs that do it much better than the Knowledge Base article
Prime Links
[RC]Opening External Link in New Window.

Or they could just do what most people do, right click and choose to open the link in a new tab or window.

[Greengo]

Or they could just do what most people do, right click and choose to open the link in a new tab or window.

This seems to be an irritant for most people though as other BB types allow links to open in a separate tab or window especially with the growth of tablets, mobile phones etc allowing for browsing...

I'll check out the links you provided... thanks...

[Pony99CA]

Or they could just do what most people do, right click and choose to open the link in a new tab or window.

This seems to be an irritant for most people though as other BB types allow links to open in a separate tab or window especially with the growth of tablets, mobile phones etc allowing for browsing...

You may view it as an irritant, but Web usability guru Jakob Nielssen thinks that opening Web sites in a new window is generally a bad idea:

Since 1999, it's been a firm Web usability guideline to refrain from opening new browser windows for several reasons:

• When new windows appear that users didn't ask for, it's both confusing and disruptive.
• If the new window completely obscures the old one, many users don't even realize a new window has opened.
• Less-technical users can't manage multiple windows.
• New windows can defeat users who are blind or have low vision, as, for example, when a new window opens outside the part of the screen that's magnified for a low-vision user.

The common rationale designers have for opening new windows is "to keep users on our site," but that's bogus reasoning. If people want to leave, they'll leave. And if they just want to look at the other site, they'll return to your site by clicking the Back button -- the second most used feature on the Web (after hypertext links). In fact, one of the usability problems of opening new windows is that they alter the expected behavior for returning to the previous location.

The fact is that you don't know if the person wants to leave your site by clicking that link or not. If they don't, they can learn how to open a new window/tab in their browser (my middle mouse button is programmed to do that, so it's even the same number of clicks) or use the Back button (in most cases) to return to your site.

While it's true that mobile devices exacerbate the problem if people did not want to leave your site, you can often tap-and-hold a link to get an "open in new tab" option. Of course, if browsers aren't tabbed (like Android 2.x), what do you expect to happen?

Steve