User options to control what opens in a new tab

@mindym yes, you are correct, there are mixed opinions on this. Initially we have considered the request opening in new tab and now we are hearing the vice-versa. 

I also want to see the number of up-votes does this request get.

@All, please up-vote to show your interest on the request. 

We have heard this often from our users as well.

Hey @mindym,  thank you for sharing this. We are working towards making the behavior consistent across the product. Can you please highlight the exact area where you would like things to open in the same tab ?

@gopal_rao_kallepu I went back to the team and asked for specific scenarios and the consensus was that they never want things to open in a new tab.

Some of those specific scenarios that I can think of (not comprehensive):

• If you click on a relationship from the c360 that opens a new tab (this is the most annoying)
• If you click any URL on the c360/r360 (from attribute fields for example) that opens in a new tab
• Clicking on any link (to company, relationship, CTA, or external URL) on a dashboard.

Perhaps the reason that it is so annoying is that if I want to open things in a new tab I can right click and choose to open in a new tab (if it were set by default not to), but if I don’t want it to that’s not even an option. You end up with a wake of tabs that you don’t want and have no need for.

This is why I would love the user to have settings for which scenarios they want to open in a new tab vs not. Or, just default it to not open in a new tab and the user can right click (or maybe there’s a special icon/link) that allows them to open in a new tab when they want to.

Thank you @mindym, we really appreciate your efforts on this. Having a global setting for hyperlinks behavior is an interesting idea, we will explore more on this aspect internally and try to better the behavior.

@gopal_rao_kallepu reraising this. This is a top concern from admins and business stakeholders in prep for our go-live. 

I personally like using new tabs, but the key term is personally - this is one of those things that varies per user and drastically impacts workflows. If users are able to control this behavior on a per-person basis, as a preference, a lot of unnecessary heartache could be avoided.

Agree with the above “a lot of unnecessary heartache could be avoided”-  links opening in a new tab is definitely a user preference and should be a setting controlled per user.  Thank you!

Adding another voice to the chorus. I’m amazed how many tabs Gainsight can spawn in the course of a day, and some of my new users have expressed the same sentiment, and would like to control the “tab sprawl” or at least have options or preferences available.

Former web product owner and web manager here . In the web world, the rule is that the user should be able to choose when to open content in a new tab. That’s the accessibility best practice. 

If I may, here’s what the W3C says about opening links in new tabs:

In general, it is better not to open new windows and tabs since they can be disorienting for people, especially people who have difficulty perceiving visual content. However there are some situations where it is preferable from an accessibility perspective to open a new window or tab. Here are two such situations:

1. Opening a page containing context-sensitive information, such as help instructions, or an alternate means of completing a form, such as a calendar-based date picker, will significantly disrupt a multi-step workflow, such as filling in and submitting a form, if the page is opened in the same window or tab.

2. The user is logged into a secured area of a site, and following a link to a page outside of the secured area would terminate the user's logon. In this case opening external links in an external window allows the user to access such references while keeping their login active in the original window.

It is recommended that when links are opened to a new window, there is advance warning.

Source: G200: Opening new windows and tabs from a link only when necessary | Techniques for WCAG 2.0 (w3.org)

They’re the leading authority on web accessibility and after all, Gainsight is a web-based solution . It should be for the user to choose. At the very least, it should be a setting in their user profile. 

Our CSMs work both ways so having the option of allowing the end users to choose to open in same or new tab will be helpful

@gopal_rao_kallepu to get this on your radar