How can I open a link in new tab (and not new window)?

I have an 'Open' button that 'calculates' a link that should be opened in a new tab. I try to use:

window.open(url, '_blank');

But that opens a new window.

I also tried the following method:

<form id="oform" name="oform" action="" method="post" target="_blank">
</form>

...

document.getElementById("oform").action = url;
document.getElementById("oform").submit();

Still, a new window is opened, instead of a new tab.

When using simple <a href...> with target='blank', the link is opened in a new tab.

Is there a solution?

Update [2019] Most browsers today open in a new tab when you set the target to _blank. The days of popup windows is long gone. We can now use:

 <a href="some url" target="_blank">content of the anchor</a>

Most sane browsers will open the new window in a new tab.

CSS3 supports "open in new tab", by the property target-new

target-new: window | tab | none;

Update [2016]: this method never made it into the CSS3 spec, as one of the comments indicates. This shouldn't be used. However, it can be seen that most modern browsers open target='_blank' links in a new tab anyway, unless one attempts to resize the new tab immediately thereafter. However, there does not appear to be a mechanism to force this behavior in the specifications.

[2011] For a method of forcing opening in a new tab that is well supported, try the following:

<a href="some url" target="_newtab">content of the anchor</a>

Else, use this method to resize window immediately, to ensure that popup blockers do not kill your popup

Other than the CSS3 target-new option @anirudh4444 mentioned, you can't and mostly importantly probably shouldn't. You are trying to control the user's experience, when this should most likely be left up to the user.

You can use any of the following, I tested them all in 6 different browsers. (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, K-meleon* and Seamonkey.)

1. <a href="blaah" target="_blank">Blaah</a>
2. <a href="blaah" target="_tab">Blaah</a>
3. <a href="blaah" target="_new">Blaah</a>

They all work the exact same, and the choice is completely up to preference.

*K-meleon, for some reason just opened up the page I was on when I clicked the link.

I was able to solve this issue using a "form" element.

function openNewTab(link) {
     var frm = $('<form   method="get" action="' + link + '" target="_blank"></form>')
     $("body").append(frm);
     frm.submit().remove();
}

For complete implementation and details visit my post http://mukesh.in/force-open-new-tab-in-browsers-instead-of-windows/

Or see this JSFiddle

Your form has target="_blank" (including a leading underscore) while your simple link has the target='blank' without the leading underscore. The "_blank" is a reserved word specifying a particular action, but "blank" is the name of a specific, possibly new, window. That's why you're getting different results. Both are pop-ups, but different types.

Each user has ultimate control about whether a pop-up should open a new window or a new tab. There's nothing you can do about it.

The following works in Chrome:

<script>
    function buildAndGo() {
        var aEl = document.getElementById('missingLink');
        aEl.href = "#" + resultOfSomeCalculation();

        var e = document.createEvent('MouseEvents');
        e.initEvent( 'click', true, true );

        aEl.dispatchEvent(e);
    }
</script>
...
<button onclick="buildAndGo()">Do it</button>
<a href="#" id="missingLink" target="_blank" style="visibility: hidden;"></a>

Working from the following sources to try and get an IE version working: Selenium BrowserBot, YUI User Action

In case of a link yes only using target tag would work.

But In case of a button try doing this with the onclick function instead of using just _blank

Use the window.open(url, target) function instead - it takes a URL, and a target window name, which behaves the same as the target="something" attribute on a link....like this

button(type="button", onclick="window.open('auth/google', '_blank');")

This should work.