If you open a window like:
window.open ("url","winName","location=0,width=300,height=214");
If winName is already open it just changes the URL in the window. This is ok but if that window is behind the current window most users won't realize this and think that it is just not opening.
Is there any way that if the window is already open, it brings it to the front?
Update: This hasn't worked since Chrome (21+). The workaround is to close/reopen.
The window.open() method returns an object that represents the new window. You just need to window.focus() it:
var w = window.open ("url","winName","location=0,width=300,height=214");
w.focus();
Or simply:
window.open("url","winName","location=0,width=300,height=214").focus();
The various answers suggesting using any form of .focus() are likely not going to work in all browsers.
This used to work back in the day but not any more, mainly due to browsers working to actively stop shady ad networks from pushing their popup ads to the foreground.
In Mozilla Firefox in particular (depending on your version) there is a configuration setting that is turned on by default that stops other windows (e.g. popups) from focusing themselves.
You can find this setting in the about:config page (tread carefully!)
dom.disable_window_flip: true
If I recall correctly this setting used to be called something like ~"allow_raise_or_lower_windows*
Other browsers may implement something similar, but quite simply if 1 of the major browsers blocks the use of .focus() by default then there's not much use in attempting to call it.
As a result, the only solution I've seen that works is to see if the window exists, and is not already closed... and if so close it, then load the window you want.
function closePopupIfOpen(popupName){
if(typeof(window[popupName]) != 'undefined' && !window[popupName].closed){
window[popupName].close();
}
}
when opening your popup if there's a chance it is already open (and burried behind other windows) then you can call this function before you attempt to open your popup.
closePopupIfOpen('fooWin');
var fooWin = window.open('someURL', 'foo', '...features...');
The drawback of course is that if there was anything "important" (e.g. a form partially filled in) in that window it will be lost.
Update: This hasn't worked since Chrome (21+). The workaround is to close/reopen.
Be careful, because when you open a new window, the opener window might still have some code to be executed, maybe some of this code gives it the focus. You would see how your new window opens in the front and suddenly goes to the back, so, it is a great idea in these cases, to set a timeout in order to give the focus to the new window a bit later on, when all the javascript in the opener window is executed, you can do it this way:
setTimeout(function(){window.focus();},1000);
Being 1000 the amount of miliseconds to wait, and window the name of the opened window.
You could also use this code in the opened window in the body onload for example.
I fixed this by adding
onclick="myWin = window.open('','winName','location=0,width=300,height=214'); myWin.focus()"
to the html element(button) and then change the URL via JS.
window.focus() applied to the window in question should do the trick.
You can use jQuery :
myPopup = window.open(url, "Title","menubar=no, status=no, scrollbars=no, menubar=no, width=800, height=800");
$(myPopup).focus();
Closing the window first, does the trick for me:
window.open('', 'mypopup').close();
setTimeout(function() {
window.open('', 'mypopup').focus();
}, 500);
I had the same problem, have spent a lot of time to find a solution, finally it works by this:
var singleWindow;
function openNewWindow(){
if(singleWindow){
singleWindow.close();
}
singleWindow = window.open ("url","winName","location=0,width=300,height=214");
}
This close the current window (if exist) and open a new window that will be placed on the top (default behavior)
Hope this help you !
Related
If you open a window like:
window.open ("url","winName","location=0,width=300,height=214");
If winName is already open it just changes the URL in the window. This is ok but if that window is behind the current window most users won't realize this and think that it is just not opening.
Is there any way that if the window is already open, it brings it to the front?
Update: This hasn't worked since Chrome (21+). The workaround is to close/reopen.
The window.open() method returns an object that represents the new window. You just need to window.focus() it:
var w = window.open ("url","winName","location=0,width=300,height=214");
w.focus();
Or simply:
window.open("url","winName","location=0,width=300,height=214").focus();
The various answers suggesting using any form of .focus() are likely not going to work in all browsers.
This used to work back in the day but not any more, mainly due to browsers working to actively stop shady ad networks from pushing their popup ads to the foreground.
In Mozilla Firefox in particular (depending on your version) there is a configuration setting that is turned on by default that stops other windows (e.g. popups) from focusing themselves.
You can find this setting in the about:config page (tread carefully!)
dom.disable_window_flip: true
If I recall correctly this setting used to be called something like ~"allow_raise_or_lower_windows*
Other browsers may implement something similar, but quite simply if 1 of the major browsers blocks the use of .focus() by default then there's not much use in attempting to call it.
As a result, the only solution I've seen that works is to see if the window exists, and is not already closed... and if so close it, then load the window you want.
function closePopupIfOpen(popupName){
if(typeof(window[popupName]) != 'undefined' && !window[popupName].closed){
window[popupName].close();
}
}
when opening your popup if there's a chance it is already open (and burried behind other windows) then you can call this function before you attempt to open your popup.
closePopupIfOpen('fooWin');
var fooWin = window.open('someURL', 'foo', '...features...');
The drawback of course is that if there was anything "important" (e.g. a form partially filled in) in that window it will be lost.
Update: This hasn't worked since Chrome (21+). The workaround is to close/reopen.
Be careful, because when you open a new window, the opener window might still have some code to be executed, maybe some of this code gives it the focus. You would see how your new window opens in the front and suddenly goes to the back, so, it is a great idea in these cases, to set a timeout in order to give the focus to the new window a bit later on, when all the javascript in the opener window is executed, you can do it this way:
setTimeout(function(){window.focus();},1000);
Being 1000 the amount of miliseconds to wait, and window the name of the opened window.
You could also use this code in the opened window in the body onload for example.
I fixed this by adding
onclick="myWin = window.open('','winName','location=0,width=300,height=214'); myWin.focus()"
to the html element(button) and then change the URL via JS.
window.focus() applied to the window in question should do the trick.
You can use jQuery :
myPopup = window.open(url, "Title","menubar=no, status=no, scrollbars=no, menubar=no, width=800, height=800");
$(myPopup).focus();
Closing the window first, does the trick for me:
window.open('', 'mypopup').close();
setTimeout(function() {
window.open('', 'mypopup').focus();
}, 500);
I had the same problem, have spent a lot of time to find a solution, finally it works by this:
var singleWindow;
function openNewWindow(){
if(singleWindow){
singleWindow.close();
}
singleWindow = window.open ("url","winName","location=0,width=300,height=214");
}
This close the current window (if exist) and open a new window that will be placed on the top (default behavior)
Hope this help you !
If I open a window using
window.open('myurl.html', 'windowname', 'width=100,height=100');
How do I refer to the new window (from the same page that opened it) using 'windowname'? This question is specifically about this. I'm aware that I could save a reference to the handle by using "var mywin = window.open(...)" but I don't care about that in this situation.
Thanks, - Dave
In firefox (might work in other browsers too, but now it's not my concern) I was able to reference one window accross multiple page loads with
var w = window.open("", "nameofwindow");
This opens new window if it doesn't exist and return reference to existing window if it does exist without changing contents of the window.
With jQuery I was then able to append new content, to make quick collection of interresting links like this
$('body', w.document).append(link_tag);
If you didn't save a reference to the window then there is no way to restore it. However, if that window is still open and if the page loaded there belongs to the same domain as your page, you can run JavaScript code in it:
window.open("javascript:doSomething()", "windowname");
Whether that's sufficient in your scenario depends on what you are trying to achieve.
Petr is correct:
var w = window.open("", "nameofwindow");
works in all browsers, I am using it to retrieve the reference to the window object previously opened by a different page. The only problem is the initial opening of the page, if the popup does not exist, you will get a new window with a blank page.
I tried invoking a Javascript function inside the context of the other document in order to check whether I opened a new window or retrieved the already active page. If the check fails, I just invoke window.open again to actually load my popup content:
var w = window.open("http://mydomain.com/myPopup", "nameofwindow");
Hope that helps.
It is not possible. The windowName is just to be used in target="..." of links/forms or to use the same name again in another window.open call to open a new url in that window.
Try open that window with the name, but URL is '' again, to check if it's a blank window or not. If it's in open, then you will get the window; if not, a new window open, and you need close it.
Add the children in localStorage will help to prevent to open the new blank window.
Please check my code in https://github.com/goldentom66/ParentChildWindow
Sorry I am posting late, but if you still have the other window open, and they are on the same domain, you can run, on the first window:
function getReference(w) {
console.log('Hello from', w);
}
And on the second window:
window.opener.getReference(window);
afaik there's no way like windows['windowname'].
The 'windowname' assigned in window.open() can be addressed as a target in <a target="windowname" [...] >
I have a page where I open a popup window and the original window is supposed to stay usable. In IE and Chrome, I can switch back and forth between the parent and child, but in Firefox, if I click on the parent window, focus goes to the child (which just flashes tauntingly).
I look at Firefox's popup options, and the only one that seemed relevant is dependent, which wasn't set. Setting dependant=no didn't change anything either.
I'm creating my window with:
features = 'location=no,menubar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no,dependent=no,width=1024,height=894,top=65,left=128';
windowRef = window.open(url, windowName, features);
Very strange, you're not declaring the window to be modal but it's behaving like a modal dialog anyway. Try adding modal=no to the features:
var features = 'location=no,menubar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no,dependent=no,width=1024,height=894,top=65,left=128,modal=no';
windowRef = window.open(url, windowName, features);
I figured out what was happening. My original window was created using showModalDialog(), and then I created a new window using window.open() inside of that. For some reason Firefox decided that since the original was modal, the child should be modal too. Time to see if this is a bug or a "feature".
I have a window I'm opening with a Javascript function:
function newwindow()
{
window.open('link.html','','width=,height=,resizable=no');
}
I need it that once the new window opens that the focus returns to the original window.
How can I do that?
And where do I put the code - in the new window, or the old one?
Thanks!
This is known as a 'pop-under' (and is generally frowned upon... but I digress).. It should give you plenty to google about
You probably want to do something like:
var popup = window.open(...);
popup.blur();
window.focus();
Which should set the focus back to the original window (untested - pinched from google). Some browsers might block this technique.
After calling window.open, you may try to use
window.resizeTo(0,0);
window.moveTo(0,window.screen.availHeight+10);
this way can not really open window in background, but works in similar way. Chrome works fine, did not try other browser.
If Albert's solution doesn't work for you and you actually want the window visible, but to be opened behind the current window, you can try opening a new tab in the opener window and closing it right away, this will bring the focus back to the opener window.
window.open('link.html','','width=,height=,resizable=no');
window.open().close();
However, I believe whether the second window opens in a tab or a new window depends on your browser settings.
Please don't use "pop-unders" for evil.
You can use either
"blur" or
"focus" to do that required action.
"blur"
function newwindow()
{
var myChild= window.open('link.html','','width=,height=,resizable=no');
myChild.blur();
}
"focus"
function newwindow()
{
window.open('link.html','','width=,height=,resizable=no');
window.focus();
}
Put the code in your parentWindow (i.e. the window in which you are now)
Both will work.
tl;dr - in 2022 - ctrl/cmd clicking on a button and window.open(url, "_blank") in a javascript button handler's for loop will open multiple tabs in the background in Chrome.
I'm looking for this as of 2022 and none of the answers here worked (here and everywhere else I looked). My use case is clicking a button in a (progressive) web app which opens deep links to items in a list in background tabs (i.e. not "for evil").
It never occurred to me that ctrl/cmd + clicking on the button would open tabs in the background, but it does just as if the user clicked on an anchor tag itself directly - but only in Chrome. Combined with Chrome's relatively recent tab grouping feature, this can be very useful inside PWAs.
const isMozilla =
window?.navigator?.userAgent?.toString().toLowerCase().includes('firefox') ?? false;
for (let index = 0; index < urls.length; index++) {
const url = isMozilla ? urls.reverse()[index] : urls[index];
window.open(url, "_blank");
}
Note: I reverse() the array on Mozilla to get the order of newly created tabs as the user would expect them.
You can just use '_self'. It will be stay to the same page an
window.open(url, '_self');
From a child popup window (opened using window.open), I am trying to change the URL of the window that opened me, e.g.
window.opener.location.href = 'http://www.google.com';
In all browsers this works wonderfully, except for IE8 (and I am somewhat sure it worked in previous IE8. Maybe a security update kills this).
In IE8 what happens is that the line above is treated as a request to open a NEW window with the address and the original opener window stays the same. And, since I am not putting this line inside an onclick event, this is treated as a popup.
So how do I do this in IE8? How do I change the opener location?
It looks like this is just not possible. I got no answer from anybody and all my research indicated that this is just another way MS added to block popups.
try to move action into parent window, like this:
//parent.htm
function changeUrl(url) {
location.href = url;
window.reload();
}
window.open("child.htm");
.....
//child.htm
window.opener.changeUrl(url);
try this:
on the opener window define a function called goto ;-)
function goto(url){ window.location.href = url; }
now from the child window call window.opener.goto(url);