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Originally Posted by Webnauts
One pair of users, upon discovering the grayed-out "Back" button, looked at each other with something akin to horror. They were quite honestly stumped and had no idea how to proceed. After a couple minutes of discussion, they finally closed the second window. In another recent study, six out of 17 users had difficulty with multiple windows, and three of them required assistance to get back to the first window and continue the task.
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This study doesn't necessarily show that opening new windows is bad. In fact, what it looks like to me is that opening new windows is perfectly fine, so long as certain items are considered.
In the Amazon example, the new windows are opened either full screen or default window size. This is starkly different from a window which opens to a specific (small) size such as the 400x300 pixel window I related in an earlier post. Additionally, as also already noted, newly opened windows -should- have some way of prompting the user to close the window, be it a 'close this window' button or some simple text telling the user to close the window when they are done to get back to the web site. This should be in the new window, not in the explanation of the link as the user won't be confused until they get there, and then they theoretically don't know how to get back to figure out what they are supposed to do. Utilizing a small window also gives an additional visual cue of seeing the originating page behind it, where a user might recognize that they can click on that page to get back to it. (The more obvious ways to resume as you were the better.)
Regarding the back button being familiar, how much more familiar is that little X at the top right corner of most users windows? It's certainly more prolific beyond the browser, and most users of any level recognize it as a way to fix any problem that doesn't warrant a ctrl-alt-del. ;)
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Originally Posted by Webnauts
Suggestion: Avoid spawning multiple browser windows if at all possible -- taking the "Back" button away from users can make their experience so painful that it usually far outweighs whatever benefit you're trying to provide. One common theory in favor of spawning the second window is that it keeps users from leaving your site, but ironically it may have just the opposite effect by preventing them from returning when they want to.
Suggestion: If a second window is necessary, provide an obvious "close" or "back" link and don't provide navigation to other parts of the site; some users will blithely continue their task in the second (often smaller) window, which can lead to further confusion."
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'Avoid spawning' is not equal to 'do not spawn', and I agree with what's written here entirely. Opening new windows should not be used carelessly. Such should be used only with good, specific goals in mind.