235932 - CTRL+CLICK doesn't work always (on some webs the link loads, apart from opening the new tab)

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 151142

(Core :: DOM: Events, defect)

Description

[Andrés G. Aragoneses]

User-Agent:       
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; es-ES; rv:1.6) Gecko/20040113

I tried to search this bug, but with the word "CTRL+Click" in the Summary I
think it doesn't exist.

Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Open the URL included (http://es.kde.org/modules/newbb/).
2. CTRL+Click the link named "KDE-Live 3.2", for example.

Actual Results:  
A new tab is created, but the link loads both on the current tab and on the tab
created.

Expected Results:  
A new tab is created, and the link loads on the new tab.

If we use the contextual menu (open link in new tab), the results are correct.

Comment 1

[Jo Hermans]

That's because this website uses both a <A HREf=...> for the link, and an
onClick handler on top of that. That's a bit superfluous.

Comment 2

[Mats Palmgren (inactive)]

This is the markup in question:

<td
onclick="window.location='http://es.kde.org/modules/newbb/viewforum.php?forum=19'"><a
href="http://es.kde.org/modules/newbb/viewforum.php?forum=19">KDE-Live 3.2</a>

Comment 3

[Andrés G. Aragoneses]

I have just downloaded Mozilla 1.7 RC1 for Win32 and now the feature of
CTRL+Click on a link always doesn't work! (It opens a new window instead of a
new tab.) And I can't find any bug about this...

Comment 4

[Gérard Talbot]

Reporter,
There are bugs opened on this issue which are pretty close to this bug
description and within the timeframe you reported it: bug 145313, bug 151142,
bug 217262 for starters. In comment #3, you kind of suggested that the initial
problem was gone: is that correct?
... and that now, you could not open a tab with Ctrl+click: is that still the
case? Can you verify that you have
Edit/Preferences.../Navigator/Tabbed Browsing/Open tabs instead of windows
for/Middle+click, Ctrl+click or Control+Enter on links in webpages 
checkbox is checked

If the problem as described in the description still persists, then report back
the Mozilla build number(1), the webpage url where that happens, the link (its
text and page location regarding it) causing the problem and your user/pref
settings. There are many possibilities here and we can not figure out what it
can be without examining the source code of the page and without knowing your
browser settings/configuration. Right now, links at the page
http://www.kdehispano.org/modules/news/
show none of the symptoms you originally described.
rv: 1.7 build 20040525 under XP Pro SP1 here.

Without details, specifics and reproducible steps from which we could create a
valid testcase, I'm very much enclined to resolve this bug as WORKSFORME. If a
problem arises on a link and if such link has an onclick event handler, then
it's almost certain that this would be a DUPLICATE of bug 151142. E.g.:
Ctrl+clicking on the link in attachment 87709 [details] will load the referenced resource
in a tab *and* in a new window because the onclick event handler is not ignored
and the canceling of the default action (return false in the code) has nothing
to do really with the user pref setting in the browser
(.../Navigator/Tabbed Browsing/Open tabs instead of windows for/Ctrl+click); 
the href value will load in a new tab. There is no real bug here, just
redundancy/complexities between javascript code, user settings and browser
features/capabilities.

Unless I hear from you, I will resolve this bug as WORKSFORME.
---
(1)"be sure that you've reproduced your bug using a build released within the
past three days"
http://www.mozilla.org/quality/bug-writing-guidelines.html

Comment 5

[Andrés G. Aragoneses]

My comment#3 was caused by an unknown reason of misconfiguration
(Edit/Preferences.../Navigator/Tabbed Browsing/Open tabs instead of windows
for/...). I don't know why Mozilla lost this setting when I reinstalled a new
version. Sorry for that.

About the CTRL+CLICK issue, the URL that was referencing this bug no longer
works, now I have updated it. The issue happens, as you notice, because the
OnClick event is fired and it shouldn't. That's why finally perhaps this bug is
a duplicate.

I'll add now the testcase. Compare it to those bugs, and please resolve it as
DUPLICATE, WONTFIX, or NEW. But I don't think WORKSFORME is correct.

Comment 6

[Andrés G. Aragoneses]

Attachment: Testcase with 2 links

Comment 7

[Gérard Talbot]

(In reply to comment #5)

Thanks for getting back and for your testcase. This is appreciated.

> My comment#3 was caused by an unknown reason of misconfiguration
> (Edit/Preferences.../Navigator/Tabbed Browsing/Open tabs instead of windows
> for/...). I don't know why Mozilla lost this setting when I reinstalled a new
> version. Sorry for that.
> 

This happened in a few builds. That's why I was pretty sure your "Tabbed
Browsing/Open tabs instead..." setting was changed.

> About the CTRL+CLICK issue, the URL that was referencing this bug no longer
> works, now I have updated it. The issue happens, as you notice, because the
> OnClick event is fired and it shouldn't. 

Why a featured browser customization of Ctrl+Click should neutralize the click
event too(1)? I don't see this as a pure and obvious bug. Strictly speaking,
when considering the source code and the user pref setting, the current browser
behavior seems correct to me and seem to work as expected, code-wise speaking.
It's the over-use, excessive use of javascript that seems problematic to me.

In the testcase, I see an obvious unjustified redundancy; I don't understand for
what use/purpose the code of link 2 could possibly serve. 
At the URL, I see excessively over-reaching code. Also, I'm pretty sure there
may be a javascriptor-or-css-code-wise way to workaround this Ctrl+Click problem
at the URL. Hint: go to 
http://www10.brinkster.com/doctorunclear/HTMLJavascriptCSS/DUHTMLJavascriptCSS.html
and then Ctrl+click on the links and then try Ctrl+click on their right-side,
Middle+click on the links and then try Middle+click on their right-side: you
shouldn't get any tab opening problem or click management conflict.

Finally, after seeing your testcase, I'm now more tempted to resolve this bug as
a DUPLICATE of bug 151142.
---
(1) Neutralizing/canceling the click event for the link would still not
neutralize the event propagation (bubbling) and the cell's onclick event handler
would be triggered anyway, like in your link1 of your testcase. So, depending on
the code of a page, you would sometimes need to cancel the onclick event of the
link, sometimes you would need to prevent its propagation. A nightmare!

Comment 8

[Gérard Talbot]

I am RESOLVING this bug as DUPLICATE of bug 151142 and I will later upload an
demo page at bug 151142 which includes the case of the page
http://www.kdehispano.org/modules/newbb/
discussed in this bug.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 151142 ***