Do you right click on links?

[Andy]

Hi Guys and Girls, I was authoring a blog post with links in it and got a bit tired of having to insert target="_blank" into the html links.  Imagine you are reading an article and half-way there is a link on a keyword for more info on something. I expect people want to finish reading the article even if they click the link.

So what I don't know is, are people savvy enough to right click on a link to open a new window/tab or do they just click and leave your site? I wonder if any studies have been done on this?

[Manu]

Well I myself always open links in new tab while I am reading any page........

[carpmad]

i right click aswell but i think alot of people just click mainly to save time incase they havnt got it opening in a new window
but id imagine the people viewing your site would generaly right click as they will know what there doing because they will most likely have there own site

[Andy]

So I guess it's best to let them choose since there is no option to open in the same window.

[SensoVision]

Andy, why don't you add poll to this thread, after some time you can have your own studies which would show what people actually do
As for me I use middle button and it's open me new tab. I use "blank" only for links which should make person leave site, for the rest of links I give them choice.

[Andy]

Andy, why don't you add poll to this thread

I thought about it but most polls don't get enough responses to give valid data. I suppose it's because the topic is quickly lost in the noise.

Even threads with polls loose sight of the poll and get a long chain of discussion going on from people that already voted.

[Hope]

Most geek / tech people will right click. Most others don't even know you can do this.

[Andy]

Most geek / tech people will right click. Most others don't even know you can do this.

Like I thought, so I'm doing the right thing 

[Jamie Walker]

As a designer:
Any link I add that I do not intend for that person to leave the page permanently, I insert the blank target.  When adding links, you have to think of the context in which the page is being used.  Think about it as if you were the user.  For example, an article; if you want the person to continue reading the article, then you should insert the blank target.  If you want the person to leave the page, insert the main target or simple do not enter a target.

As a browser:
I'm open-in-new-tab addicted!  I don't care if a link has the tag or not, I middle click [push down on the scroll mouse] every link and it opens the window in a new tab in Firefox.  At any one time, my browser could have 3 windows, each with 6-8 tabs open each.  My mom on the other hand, doesn't know how to use this feature and sometimes I'll catch her using IE [bad, bad mom] and I can hear her on the other end of the line:  She's reading me some article about sewing or some crap and I hear her cussing, I say "what wrong?" and she says "I clicked on a link and now I can't find that article I wanted to tell you about!"  She's not web-savvy at all and unless you provide her that blank target link, you just lost her.

[johnhask]

Shift+click or new tab

[design1]

I ALWAYS right click on links, unless i'm positive i'm done viewing the current site.  I end up with a pile of windows open, but often go back to previous sites.  Although, I hate it when I right click a link and get a javascript pop up error. 

[design1]

My mom on the other hand, doesn't know how to use this feature and sometimes I'll catch her using IE [bad, bad mom] and I can hear her on the other end of the line:  She's reading me some article about sewing or some crap and I hear her cussing, I say "what wrong?" and she says "I clicked on a link and now I can't find that article I wanted to tell you about!"  She's not web-savvy at all and unless you provide her that blank target link, you just lost her.

LOL! Sounds just like my mother..

[TexasLady]

I'm a reasonably puter savvy lady and one of the reasons I used to hate I.E. was because every time I wanted to open a new site, I either had to lose the current one or open another I.E. browser window.    Drove me crazy!

Then I came here and discovered Firefox.   Joy, Joy!   Now I just right click away and get all these neat little windows open I can switch back and forth between.   Sometimes, denpending on what I'm working on, I may even open the same site twice so I can switch back and forth.    That's so darn convenient.   A big thank you to you great people here.

I guess that's why my son calls me "Actively Senior Mom."    Although I might like "Actively Savvy Mom" even better.   LOLOL