There is no parent-child relationship between browser windows. More exactly, most browsers also have tabs which behave like separate browser windows from the standpoint of HTML or JavaScript, but behave in a very different ways from the user's standpoint. Their use is not standardized. Every time a HTML anchor or script request a new window to be created, it can be created, but the options of a particular browser can be set to interpret it as a separate top-level browser window or a new tab. The application code, HTML or script cannot control it.
This is only one of the reasons for not forcing creation of new windows. It can be useful in certain situation but is best to avoid. The user can, for example, perform Ctrl+Click instead of just click on an anchor element to navigate with creation of a new window.
This is only one of the reasons for not forcing creation of new windows. It can be useful in certain situation but is best to avoid. The user can, for example, perform Ctrl+Click instead of just click on an anchor element to navigate with creation of a new window.
One advanced technique you might be interested in is modal popup, where you have modal behavior but do not create any windows. Please see:
http://jqueryui.com/demos/dialog/[
^].
There are a number of good collections of jQuery plug-ins with modal behavior:
http://choosedaily.com/1178/15-jquery-popup-modal-dialog-plugins-tutorials/[
^].
—SA
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