Internal links open in new tab

Hi,

thanks for your post, and sorry for the trouble.

TablePress does in no way influence how links are opened, so this would have to be caused by the HTML code of your links. If those contain target="_blank" inside the <a href="..." ... code, that’s what’s causing that they open in a new window, and you would have to remove that from the HTML code.

(Also, make sure that you are not maybe accidentally using the TablePress Automatic URL conversion Extension as a plugin on your site, which can automatically insert these on the page as well.)

Regards,
Tobias

Hi Tobias,

Thanks for your quick reply.

I am using your TablePress Automatic URL conversion Extension. If that is causing all links to open in a new tab, then I guess I should deactivate it after importing tables with embedded links. I’ll try that to see if it resolves my problem.

Thanks again.

So my issue really is related to TablePress Automatic URL conversion Extension. When I deactivate that plugin the links open in the same tab, but as soon as I reactivate it they open in a new tab.

Thanks for pointing this out. I’ll just have to be sure to deactivate the plugin as soon as I have finished importing my tables.

Thanks again Tobias. I’m marking this as resolved.

Hi,

ok, thanks for checking this! Well, you won’t actually have to deactivate the Extension! Just don’t use the Shortcode parameter that turns on the loading in a new tab! ?? So, just go to the “Edit” screen of the page with the table, find the Shortcode for the table and remove the automatic_url_conversion_new_window=true part ??

Best wishes,
Tobias

Hi Tobias,

Thanks for the clarification. In my case, I have tables that have both internal and external links – hundreds of them. If I deactivate AUC (Automatic URL conversion) extension, then my internal links open in my current tab, but so do my external links, sending visitors away from my site. With AUC activated my external links open in new tabs, but so too my internal links, resulting is lots of open tabs of my site. I’m damned if I do, and damned if I don’t.

Therefore, I have a recommendation for an enhancement to either TablePress Automatic URL conversion Extension or TablePress. If a link contains the local domain it should target _self, for links to other domains it should target _blank.

I’m sure this is not a high priority request, but it certainly would be a useful enhancement. I hope you’ll consider it.

Thanks again.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by banacan99.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by banacan99.

Hi,

thanks for the explanation and the suggestion. To be honest, at the moment, I don’t have specific plans to integrate something like this.

In fact, forcing links to open in a new tab is actually considered to be bad for accessibility, as you are taking away a choice from the site visitor. Without target="_blank", they can decide for themselves (by e.g. holding the Shift or Cmd key while clicking a link, or using a right click). But if you add it, this choice is gone… Also see https://css-tricks.com/use-target_blank/

Best wishes,
Tobias

Thanks for your comments. While I strongly favor visitors having choice, marketing experts insist it’s a terrible idea to link away from your site without using target=”_blank”. Balancing different needs is always a challenge.

I know that my suggestion is one of many many you receive, and I certainly understand that you can’t implement them all. I just thought I’d offer my suggestion.

Thanks again.

Hi,

yes, there’s definitely a balance to find here! That’s what makes web development challenging and exciting at the same time, I guess ??

Now, depending on how important such a feature would be for you, we could maybe look into creating a custom solution for you, as part of the priority support that’s available for TablePress premium license holders. If that would be of interest for you, we should discuss this directly, so that I would like to ask you to get in touch via the email address from the bottom of https://tablepress.org/pricing/ for this.

Best wishes,
Tobias