Question

I’d like a hyperlink on a page to open its site’s landing page, in a new tab if it’s not already open, or, if it is already open to have the browser switch to that tab.

My idea for this was to use the target attribute but the problem is that the tab for the landing page doesn’t have a name that I can refer to.

So my question is, can a tab be named by the page loaded in it so that it can be referred to by the target attribute?

Answer 1

In general, no.

However, if you open a child “window” with JavaScript, you can retain a handle to that window and modify things that way.

In general, browsers control the behavior of how a link opens. Some default to open in the same viewport, others default to a new tab, and still others default to a new window entirely.

The best thing to do, however, is to not try to control this and instead allow the browser (and more importantly, the user) to decide how the clicked link should be opened. This allows your power users to control how they use your site, and at the same time keeps the behavior of the browser consistent for your users, which is a critical component in keeping your users happy.