Question

I’m working on a web-app where it would be useful for some links to open new windows with minimal browser chrome. It’s very likely that the user will want to display them side-by-side or tiled on-screen. (Think text-editors, filesystem navigation or terminal windows.) I know this was common practice back in the day, but I’m wondering if things have changed now that tabs are so common and the web’s general working model has changed a bit.

• Are there any recommendations for or against opening new windows?
• Are there any browser incompatibilities that I should be aware of?
• Is there anything on the window that I should not modify via javascript? E.G.: window size, removal of certain chrome elements, etc.
• Anything else that comes to mind?

Answer 1

I know this was common practice back in the day

Actually I see this coming back as web-apps start taking over the roles of traditional desktop apps.

Are there any recommendations for or against opening new windows?

As long as you use them for the right purpose, you should be fine. Never surprise the user / open windows unexpectedly.

Are there any browser incompatibilities that I should be aware of?

Not all browsers will respect all the window features you request. For example, Firefox will always show the address bar even if you ask it not to.

Is there anything on the window that I should not modify via javascript? E.G.: window size, removal of certain chrome elements, etc.

See previous two answers.