targetting tabs

[entity]

Is is possible to target a link to a tab in Firefox? Is this a stupid question?

[Twey]

No, at the moment there is no way of distinguishing tabs from windows. I'm sure that this will be added into the next HTML or XHTML standard, though, as all major browsers now implement tabs -- except IE, which soon will.

[entity]

Thanks.

[Xiong Chiamiov]

Now, I use TabMix Plus, which allows me to change all new window targets into new tabs, but that's just my personal config... So Twey's got your answer.

[Twey]

TabMix always crashed for me. I use TabBrowser Preferences now.

[Xiong Chiamiov]

TabMix always crashed for me. I use TabBrowser Preferences now.
Really? I love TabMix Plus. Were you using the Plus?

[Twey]

No idea. I don't think so, though. If it's changed substantially, I might have another look at it.

[mwinter]

No, at the moment there is no way of distinguishing tabs from windows. I'm sure that this will be addedHighly unlikely.


into the next HTMLThe W3C is not likely to ever revise HTML, and the WhatWG Web Applications specification (sometimes referred to as (x)HTML5), if it's ever adopted by browsers, doesn't even define a target attribute, as far as I can see.


or XHTML standardAll XHTML versions beyond 1.0 define frames, and therefore the target attribute, in separate modules that browsers don't have to implement, and that is the only attribute that relates to document environments (i.e. frames, windows, tabs, etc.).

Mike

[jscheuer1]

Even if some standard were developed as regards launching in or targeting of tabs, browsers would ignore it at least to the same degree that they now ignore window and frame opening/targeting.

[djr33]

The most important thing about the question, though, is that like 70% of people use IE still... and it, right now, doesn't have tabs. As such, it'll be kinda worthless even if you could figure this out.
It's a cool idea, and might be nice for something you know people only with mozilla, etc. will be using... but... yeah.

Plus, sounds like it's not possible.. but even if it were.... yeah.


random question about this then--
is there a code you can add to a link with target="_blank" that would make it open in a tab rather than a new window (in firefox and other browsers that have them)? wouldn't hurt IE or anything... just would do a new window.... seems like that might exist...

[mwinter]

is there a code you can add to a link with target="_blank" that would make it open in a tab rather than a new window (in firefox and other browsers that have them)?To my knowledge, no. It depends solely upon the user's configuration.

Mike

[jscheuer1]

random question about this then--
is there a code you can add to a link with target="_blank" that would make it open in a tab rather than a new window (in firefox and other browsers that have them)? wouldn't hurt IE or anything... just would do a new window.... seems like that might exist...

That's it - target="_blank"

If your tabbed enabled browsers are configured as mine are, that's where _blank is, a new tab. Otherwise, no.

[djr33]

Ok.. right... user preference.
Seems like that might be something enabled at some point in the future, but, then again, it won't affect your site too much and it'll override custom settings of the viewer, so it'll probably be annoying, and might not happen.
So... yeah. Ok :)


edit:
I just realized the original question was the same as what I asked... maybe. i read it like "targeting a SPECIFIC tab", not just opening in one. Heh.

[Twey]

Mike: What is this more likely to be added to, then? The DOM? ECMAScript?

I'm sure Microsoft will implement it into IE7, standards or no...

[mwinter]

Mike: What is this more likely to be added to, then? The DOM? ECMAScript?It's not likely to be implemented into any standard. For a start, I doubt that the idea of opening windows ever found favour within the W3C, and it's generally considered a bad idea by many, as it is.

I would imagine that the _blank target attribute value only made it into the HTML 4 specification because, like frames in general, it was widely implemented by various browsers and the W3C felt obligated to standardize them, even if the concept was badly thought out (and the implementations were even worse and still are).

If a 'window' can be opened as a tab, it would most likely be through the AOM (application object model) and, as such, will be implementation-specific. The first implementation might become a de facto standard, if other vendors consider it a worthwhile feature.

Of course, I could be wrong, and industry pressure might make it an addition to the W3C's emerging Web APIs (http://www.w3.org/2006/webapi/), for example.

Mike