We want links to open a new window

[Deleted user]

To Confluence Product team: Why on earth in the year 2018 and six years after users asked^1 for it this is not a checkbox (per link when it is created) in your product?

^1 https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Confluence-questions/Confluence-hyperlink-which-open-a-new-tab-or-a-new-window/qaq-p/406092

[Thomas Deiler]

Dear @[deleted],

if you would like to make a suggestion, please open a ticket at https://jira.atlassian.com. You can read this article, how the further process will be.

So long

Thomas

[Deleted user]

It was suggested by multiple users on multiple occasions. When searching your knowledge base this request appears multiple times using different words.

[Thomas Deiler]

Dear @[deleted],

Atlassian's product management will have their focus on the suggestions not on questions, that can be voted.

So long

Thomas

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

In terms of "why", it's mostly an edge-case.  Most people who link in Confluence are either linking internally, or have no reason for "new tab/window", they've provided something for the user to read next.

I am not saying it is not useful, I would use it.  Just that it's not that important to Atlassian Confluence users, in the context that there are a LOT more things we'd like to see.  (Plus, you can do it with add-ons and user macros already, which shoves it a lot lower on the list)

[Deleted user]

Come on Nic. Please consider the following points and let me know how I should proceed:

- It was asked six years ago. Doesn't give me a good feeling in terms of Atlassian listening to their users.

- It is a basic functionality that users who do not need it, can simply ignore the checkbox. It is not difficult to develop it either. Six years man.

- We have links to many external references, with this new thing called the Internet I'm sure that other companies will soon be using links to external sites as well. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to lose focus on the page that you were in?

- It is available in almost every other tool that I am evaluating

Six years kind of gives you a general feeling that "they are too big to care".

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Please, have a think about the real world

• The age of a request is utterly irrelevant compared to how useful something might be.  Different things.  Why should I implement something 10 people have wanted for 10 years when I could implement something 100,000 people have wanted for a week?  It's far more useful to spend time on the second case.
• Yes, you can ignore it.  For the rest of your argument, see the previous point
• Yes, that's fine, but why a new window?  One of the beauties of the web is that it is a web.  I pick a strand I want to read and follow it.  If it's genuinely the route to take, then, by definition, I've finished with the page I'm on, so I want a seamless transition to the new page without leaving a load of hanging junk behind me.  Open in new window has uses, but most of the time, it should be up to the user.
• Six years gives you a general feeling that there are better things to do.  This is a function that should be used sparingly, if at all.

I, like most internet users, despise out-of-context "open in new window".  Making it easy for poor writers is a bad thing.

[Bill Bailey]

Whats wrong with right-click, open in new tab? Then the use has complete control. And as Nic suggests, if you want special behavior for certain types of link, creak a user macro.