Open New Windows for PDF and other Non-Web Documents

In "Open New Windows for PDF and other Non-Web Documents," Jakob Nielsen explains the importance of opening a new window when it is needed, and not just for every link on your page. I am studying this because of personal experiences that I have had. I have spent many hours researching something on the web and come to a non-web document that I closed, and cleared all the "back" button data, requiring me to start over since I wasn't taking notes of the pages' addresses.

When people finish using non-web documents their first reaction is to close the window.

To help make users' lives easier try the following points.

Open non-Web documents in a new browser window.
Warn users in advance that a new window will appear.
Remove the browser chrome (such as the Back button) from the new window.
Best of all, prevent the browser from opening the document in the first place. Instead offer users the choice to save the file on their harddisk or to open it in its native application (Adobe Reader for PDF, PowerPoint for slides, etc.).

Conflict with Existing Usability Guidelines

Since 1999, it's been a firm Web usability guideline to refrain from opening new browser windows for several reasons:

When new windows appear that users didn't ask for, it's both confusing and disruptive.
If the new window completely obscures the old one, many users don't even realize a new window has opened.
Less-technical users can't manage multiple windows.
New windows can defeat users who are blind or have low vision, as, for example, when a new window opens outside the part of the screen that's magnified for a low-vision user.

Usually designers open new windows with links to "keep people on our site" which really is quite silly. If people want to stay, they will. And, if they want to leave, they will. Opening new windows makes it difficult to understand the pattern of navigation that already exists in the users head.

So, how do we reconcile these differing opinions?

User Experience vs. Implementation

The user experience of viewing a web site as opposed to viewing a PC-native file is a lot different, which is why it is perfectly fine, and even recommended to open PC-native files in a new window.

"Users don't view a PDF file as being the same environment as a website. There's no navigation bar or website features, and the mechanics of interacting with the document are very different than those of interacting with a website." This difference in feeling is why they close the "application" when they are finished.

Of course, this deviant user experience is one of the main reasons to avoid accursed PDF files in the first place if you're designing a browsing experience. PDF is good for printing, not for on-screen reading. But, if you must use PDF or other PC-native documents, at least recognize that they're different and treat them accordingly.

Intranet vs. Website Design

These guidelines come mainly from intranet sites, where these types of documents are a lot more common. It is a lot more common in intranets, but valuable to follow in web design also.

Most intranet guidelines are the same as those for websites. "As always, usability comes back to two questions: Who are the users? What are their tasks?" The answers are different for sites and intranets, so sometimes the guidelines differ also.

Web-Based Applications in New Windows

Since 1997 it's been a guideline for many Web-based applications to open in new windows without browser chrome. Smaller, content-focused apps should remain embedded in the originating Web page.

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