markis - 4:54 am on Oct 30, 2008 (gmt 0)

Hi guys - quickie opinion, if you don't mind.

I'm currently using target="_blank" on all the links that take the user to a pdf (used for a print-friendly version of a page) because the pdf can't contain links and I don't want to "orphan" the user.

Good or bad? Are we to the point where I can reasonably assume everyone can find the "back" button? Does a new window (or tab, depending on browser settings) just confuse / frustrate the user more? My site is about art photography, and tends to cater to a slightly older demographic (40-65 ish).

How about external links? I'd like to keep users on my site as much as possible, and I'm willing to bet most of them don't know about the right-click -> "new window" option. Is using it here just being greedy?

I'm thinking of moving to a strict doc-type, and I'm not really interested in using a JS workaround.

Thanks!