10.1 Don't make pop-ups or other windows appear

It is possible to create pages that cause new windows to open automatically. This is called spawning and the new windows are often called pop-ups because they tend to open on top of the original window.

If you change the current window or pop-up up new windows, users who cannot see or who do not notice that the current window has changed or that a new window has popped up, may be disoriented by the change.

You should:

• Avoid pop-up windows at present, since not all browsers allow you to disable pop-ups
• Avoid specifying a new window as the target of a frame with target="_blank"
• If you do open another window, tell the user. You can include warnings about new windows in link titles. For example, add the text "(opens in a new window)" as part of a link