255587 - Click on a link opens new browser window instead of new tab

Status: VERIFIED WONTFIX

(SeaMonkey :: MailNews: Message Display, enhancement)

Description

[Matti]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8a3) Gecko/20040805
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8a3) Gecko/20040805

I have my browser set to use tabs but clicking on a link in an email opens a new
window rather than a new tab. I shouldn't have to CTRL+Click to do this.

Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1.
2.
3.

Comment 1

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

(In reply to comment #0)
> I have my browser set to use tabs

Please specify exactly which setting(s) you mean by that.


> but clicking on a link in an email opens a new
> window rather than a new tab. I shouldn't have to CTRL+Click to do this.

I believe the behavior from MailNews is the same as from the browser itself.
As far as I can tell, unless some extension is being used, clicks in the 
*browser* require ctrl-click or middle-click, or context-menu > Open In New Tab; 
and all of these work from MailNews as well.

Comment 2

[Matti]

(In reply to comment #1)
> > I have my browser set to use tabs
> Please specify exactly which setting(s) you mean by that.

Preferences > Navigator > Tabbed Browsing > Tab display > Select new tabs open
from links

> > but clicking on a link in an email opens a new
> > window rather than a new tab. I shouldn't have to CTRL+Click to do this.
> I believe the behavior from MailNews is the same as from the browser itself.
> As far as I can tell, unless some extension is being used, clicks in the 
> *browser* require ctrl-click or middle-click, or context-menu > Open In New Tab; 
> and all of these work from MailNews as well.

So the above setting doesn't make "new window links" open in tabs rather than
new browsers? In which case, I guess I would like that as a feature?

Comment 3

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

(In reply to comment #2)
> So the above setting doesn't make "new window links" open in tabs rather than
> new browsers?

No, if you check the Help screen from that preference page, you'll see that the 
setting's effect is: when a new tab is opened (via whatever mechanism), that tab 
is brought to the front; if unchecked, the tab is opened in the background.

>  In which case, I guess I would like that as a feature?

You mean in the browser, or in MailNews?  If the former, you'll never see that 
implemented -- it would drive most people nuts if every link they clicked ended 
up in a new tab.  If you wanted that limited to links from MailNews (and, 
presumably, from things like Chatzilla and Calendar), that might be defensible, 
but -- that would be a new feature for Seamonkey only (it wouldn't port to 
Thunderbird), where there is unlikely to be much in the way of new feature 
development due to TB and FF.  Since it would also be highly contested (because 
it's really not that good of an idea), I'd say this is unlikely to ever become 
reality.  Great opportunity to write an extension, tho.

I recommend you resolve this bug as WontFix.

Comment 4

[Matti]

I was thinking more along the lines of those sites that open pages in new
windows (e.g. off-site links) by adding... um... "_target" (?) to the link.
Those sort of New Windows could be forced into a new tab if one has made that
choice.

PS I don't know nuttin about writing no code, I's jus a yoo-ser. =8^)