N.B: If you click on one of the images, it
will pop up in a larger zoomed in display
for you.
The Fix link targets
wizard provides you with
"link target"
errors for the course and
updates
the
links target attribute by removing
"_blank" to
prevent the link going to a new window in
the browser to help fix them
quickly. Links which must open into a new
browser window, should warn users at
least, by including "(New window)" in the
link text itself. The
existing
link target errors are
listed
with a “Submit Bulk Fixing” button, which
will then update all the link target
errors
on that current page.
All fixes
applied through this wizard can be
reverted with the Bulk fix log. All errors
hidden through this wizard are located in Exception
Management.
Viewing the Fix link targets wizard
The Fix link targets
wizard can be accessed via:
- Course actions menu > Brickfield
Accessibility+ toolkit > Go to
wizards > Fix link targets
- Accessibility+ Review block > View
Accessibility+ report (Chart icon)
> Go to
wizards > Fix link targets
- The
"Fix" link that's
available for the "Links opening into
a
new window should warn users in
advance"
check in the Check
list report.
The Fix link targets wizard displays the
following details for each
error:
- Name: the activity type and name.
- Course: the courses shortname in which
the error resides.
- Existing HTML code: the full HTML
code.
- Update to: This link will no longer
open into a new window or tab.
- Hide: checkbox to hide the error when
processed
Impact
If a link opens into a new browser
window without warning, the user may
not realise until it's too late -
especially
if they are using a
screenreader. This can cause confusion and
irritation, not least because
they are now unable to use the "Back"
button
to navigate backwards if
needed.
Why should you not force links
to open in a new window?
To provide some background, there are very
few valid reasons for forcing a user into
a new window and there are many reasons
why you should not do so.
One quote from the Nielsen Norman Group, or
NN Group, an industry recognised World
Leader in Research-Based User Experience
is "Opening up new browser windows is like
a vacuum cleaner sales person who starts a
visit by emptying an ashtray on the
customer's carpet. "
Here are some reasons why you should not
force links to open in new windows
- For everyone, bouncing people into
another window is a surprise and not a
good one (like a box of chocolates).
This will further create problems for
users with low sight or cognitive
disabilities who may not see that a
new tab has opened.
- Opening a new window or tab resets the
back button in that window. Users with
screen readers cannot go back to the
page they came from. This breaks the
navigation experience for that
user.
- Whenever someone clicks a link, they
should be able to go back. The back
button is a heavily used feature in
browsers.
- If the person is using a terminal -
they force one window only generally,
so putting a link into a new window
literally means they cannot navigate
between windows/tabs and will either
lose the existing site or not access
the new link.
- Navigating multiple windows/tabs is a
horrible experience and can cause a
lot of confusion on mobile devices -
especially phones - this is not an
experience you want to force on your
users
How the Accessibility+ toolkit handles
link
targets
With our premium toolkit, we
also have
alternate helpers that offer different
ways to handle opening links in new
windows. One example is a local plugin
which creates a popup, like a Confirm
popup, but for the user to decide from the
following options for a link which has
been set to open in a new window:
- Open in a new window.
- Open in the same window.
- Cancel, returning to the original
page.
In short - let the user decide if they want
to open a link in a new window or not -
and perhaps add “(external site)” as text
so they can tell if it’s external or
not.