Question

I am using jQuery, and wish to make certain links open in a new window.

However, I want to pass as valid XHTML 1.1. Also, I beleive this is a behaviour which should be in the correct layer, i.e. JavaScript.

Any jQuery plugin available?

Answer 1

I’ve thrown together a quick jQuery plugin

 (function($){  
  $.fn.newWindow = function(options) {       
    var defaults = {
        titleText: 'Link opens in a new window'     
    };

    var options = $.extend(defaults, options);

     return this.each(function() {  
       var obj = $(this);

       if (options.titleText) {        
           if (obj.attr('title')) {
                     var newTitle = obj.attr('title') + ' (' 
                                                + options.titleText + ')';
           } else {
                    var newTitle = options.titleText;
           };              
           obj.attr('title', newTitle);            
       };          

       obj.click(function(event) {
          event.preventDefault();  
          var newBlankWindow = window.open(obj.attr('href'), '_blank');
          newBlankWindow.focus();
        });     
       });    
  };  
 })(jQuery); 

Example Usage

$('a[rel=external]').newWindow();

You can also change, or remove the title text, by passing in some JSON options

Example to change title text:

$('a[rel=external]').newWindow( { titleText: 'This is a new window link!' } );

Example to remove it alltogether

$('a[rel=external]').newWindow( { titleText: '' } );

This is my first jQuery plugin, so any feedback would be greatful.