Non-resizable web browser windows

Posted by Pierre Igot in: Macintosh
July 1st, 2003 • 10:01 pm

I find it particularly annoying when certain web sites decide to make some of their contents accessible through so-called popup windows and these popup windows, created by some JavaScript code in the link code, have settings that intrude on the user’s browsing habits and preferences.

For example, the times.co.uk web site has a search field on its home page. If you type in a keyword and hit Search, you are taken to a page of results. If you click on one of the results, your browser automatically opens a new window with a width of 600 pixels and a height of 600 pixels and no possibility to resize the window.

Looking at the JavaScript code in the search results page, I see the following:

<p class="popcopy">77% <a class="poptext" href='#' onClick="javascript: window.open('http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-7-729432,00.html', 'searchPop','top=50,left=220,width=600,height=600, resizable=no scrollbars=yes');" >
The (not so) secret diary of a blogger</a> 30 Jun 2003<br>
One of our correspondents sets up a weblog, to the amusement/scorn/pity of friends, while other correspondents list their favourite sites</p>

(My emphasis.)

I find it highly presumptuous of the times.co.uk designer to have decided that everybody will want to read their article in a 600×600 window with no option to resize it.

Of course, this can be circumvented rather easily by asking your browser to display the popup window’s address bar, copying the URL of the article, opening a new browser window, and pasting the URL in that window’s address bar. But how convenient is that?

The problem is compounded by the fact that, if you follow a link in that non-resizable window from the original times.co.uk to a third-party web site, this third-party web site itself will be displayed in the same non-resizable window, which might not be appropriate for it at all. (This will also happen if you open links in new tabs in the same window.)

It’s basically just a pain, and it’s sad to see such sites using the “resizable=no” option for no defensible reason.

A solution would be an option added to Safari’s “Advanced” preference pane to ignore the “resizable=” option.


Comments are closed.

Leave a Reply

Comments are closed.