Default to "open in new window" when posting a link

[GregFreeman]

I always forget to set my links to open in a new window and have to go back and edit my post. I also don't like when I may click a link in a thread which takes me to another thread, and I click that link etc, and then realize I have to hit back 15 times to get to the thread I started on. This is a matter of preference, and I feel the "open link in current window" option should still remain, but I would like to see open in new window as the default.

[Darin.K]

Not that I don't trust you guys, but I pretty much Crtl-Click every link to open it in a new tab regardless of setting.

[tst]

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@Darin.K wrote:

I pretty much Crtl-Click every link...

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Or middle-click, which is even easier.

[RayFarmer]

what's middle-click?

[tst]

DOS and Windows mice have pretty much always had support for 3-button mice. Most mice today don't have the middle button anymore, but allow sending the command another way (such as by pushing the scroll wheel down). I believe that most modern browsers use that action for various shortcuts (such as opening a link in a new tab or closing the tab you're hovering over).

[RayFarmer]

ah that middle-click. my mouse has a wheel and pressing this opens a new Tab on the browser, doesn't actually go to that newly opened Tab though.

[tst]

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@Ray Farmer wrote:

doesn't actually go to that newly opened Tab though.

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That's on purpose. The assumption is that you usually don't want to be interrupted from the current page, or you could have simply followed the link and then pressed back. In FF, at least, holding Shift down does take you to the newly opened tab and there's also an option for configuring it.

[Laura F.]

Isn't there a way to set this at the browser level?  I prefer not to have all links open in new tabs myself, or I get way too many tabs!  I looked quickly through the Firefox options menu and I don't seem to see that option.