# How come some links here open a new window and some don't?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-some-links-here-open-a-new-window-and-some-dont/50020>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 14, 2001, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-some-links-here-open-a-new-window-and-some-dont/50020 "2001-01-14T20:04:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Fanny\_May](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3be4f8/32.png) [@Fanny\_May](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fanny_May)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-some-links-here-open-a-new-window-and-some-dont/50020/1 "2001-01-14T20:04:56Z")

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I sometimes am reading things on the board and end up with lots of windows open. It gets sometimes catches me off guard and I post to the wrong forum, the one I was at earlier.

Can I predict when a new window will appear?

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**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-some-links-here-open-a-new-window-and-some-dont/50020/2 "2001-01-14T20:09:20Z")

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Oops…you’ve done it again 🙂

This is an _ATMB_ question?

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**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-some-links-here-open-a-new-window-and-some-dont/50020/3 "2001-01-14T20:13:24Z")

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As far as I can tell, any link within a post will open a new window. Any link on a forum “main” page will open in the same window.

(As for _how_, it’s all to do with how the link’s been coded in HTML)