385386 - Need way for link in email to open in current browser window/tab

Status: NEW

(SeaMonkey :: MailNews: Message Display, defect)

Description

[Nelson Bolyard (seldom reads bugmail)]

This is a regression bug and an RFE.

Sometime in the last 30 days before the switch from 1.5a to 2.0a1, a 
change was made to SeaMonkey's behavior when clicking a link in an 
email message.  The change was that SM began to handle links clicked
in SeaMonkey's mail/news window in the same way as if the link had
been clicked in another application.  IMO, that was a HUGE REGRESSION.

Prior to that change, when one clicked on a link in an email message, 
the behavior was the same as if one clicked in a link in a browser window.
Typically it opened a new page in the "current" browser window.  

IF ONE WANTED to open the link ina new window, or a new tab, that was easy.
You just had to right-click on the link, and select one of those choices.
But the default was to open in the "current" browser window/tab.

Now, with this new change, one *CANNOT* have links from OTHER APPLICATIONS
open in a new windows/tab, but have links from SeaMonkey MAIL/NEWS open
in the current window/tab.  That's the regression.

In order to continue to have links from other appliations open in a new 
window or new tab, one must also have links from MAILNEWS open in a new 
window or tab.  Conseuently, EVERY time I click on a link in mailnews,
I get a new tab.  

In the course of reading a folder of new bugzilla mail, and clicking on the
links for those messages, I get many MANY new tabs, and have to go around
closing tabs constantly.  I didn't have to do that before.  

This is a HUGE reduction in usability for me.  I consider it a "major" feature loss.  

I think of two possible solutions for this (and there are undoubtedly others):

1) go back to treating links in email messages like links in browser windows,
opening pages in the current web browser window/tab, and letting the user
choose a new window or a new tab from the context menu if that's what he wants.

2) Add a new item to the context menu for links in email messages, an item
that says "open link in the current tab".  This option would complement
the existing options in that menu of "Open Link in new Window" and 
"Open link in new tab".

Comment 1

[Andrew Schultz]

The change was made on purpose in bug 361708, so #1 is a non-starter but #2 seems more reasonable.  But this need not block the alpha.

Comment 2

[Rez]

I agree with the bug submitter. 

It's good and necessary to have "Open In New Window" as an OPTION *on the context menu*, but it should NOT be the default.The expected default behaviour across ALL mail and browser applications is "Open in Current Window". NO internet software of my experience (12+ years) *defaults* to "Open In New Window". 

It's worse because (at least in SeaMonkey 1.1.9) there is NO option for the historically-normal behaviour of opening in the current window, so either a person is stuck with having to close these surplus windows all the time, or must copy and paste every URL he wishes to use from the email window. Either way, the new behaviour is a royal pain. And I expect it causes much confusion to elderly and inexperienced users, who won't have any idea what happened or how to cope with it.

Comment 3

[Rez]

Addendum: thanks to the debate mentioned by Andrew, and a small experiment, I discovered a fix.

go to about:config, and filter on 

browser.link.open_external

Then change the integer value to 1

(Clearly this was *meant* to be the default, but as shipped, it's not set that way.)

If you want it to always open in a new tab, change it to ... hell, I already forget if the factory setting is 2 or 3, but whichever one of those it's set to, change it to the other value. :)

Comment 4

[Nelson Bolyard (seldom reads bugmail)]

The "fix" suggested in comment 3 may indeed be a fix for users who don't want 
any links from external programs or from other browser windows to open in new 
tabs or new windows, but I don't consider it a fix for this bug. 

To restate the summary for this bug:
The choice of whether a link in a SM email window opens in the same window/tab, or in a new window/tab needs to NOT be tied to the behavior of links from 
other programs.  

To say it yet another way:
There must be a way to open links found in SM email windows that can open 
them differently than the way that links from other programs are opened.

This could be accomplished by
a) having a separate preference for links in SM email windows, and/or
b) having an item in the context menu for links in emails that gives the 
user the choice to open the link in the existing current browser window/tab.