We Keep Coding

New tab in foreground only works when browser is minimized [duplicate]

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 !

MSIE11, popup window using window.close() erases a variable just set

SUMMARY:
In MSIE 11, in a popup window when I fill a certain field with data it stays filled, or not, depending on if the popup window has window.close() called on it. Can't repeat with other browsers.
DETAILS:
I have a popup web page (a JSP page, if it matters to someone) I use to fill existing fields in a web form. I added a new field and it is filling OK -- sometimes.
Here is the pertinent section of the page, cleaned up for presentation. My actual page doesn't hard-code emails in the Javascript object.
function fillForm() {
var parentWindowOrder = window.opener.salesOrder;
var formData = parentWindowOrder.workingData;
[snip]
var xferEmails = {"emails":["jerome#myserver.com","jerome2#otherserver.com"]};
formData.user_emails = xferEmails.emails;
[snip]
}
window.close(); // HERE IS THE TOGGLE OF MY PROBLEM
In MSIE, if window.close() is disabled (commented out) then everything works OK. Elsewhere in the page the formData.user_emails can be referenced OK. Of course, the popup page still exists and must be manually closed. When using the console the query yields:
>formData.user_emails
["jerome#myserver.com","jerome2#otherserver.com"]
In MSIE, if window.close() is executed in the popup then the popup closes, of course. However, the values stored aren't preserved. When in the popup window itself, either before or after calling window.close(), the field is set and stays set. But after that the values are gone:
>formData.user_emails
{}
In other browsers I get the success condition.
Normally you'd say "You're changing the value elsewhere in your code"; however, I've already swept through my code looking for other references. Here, shown above, is the only place it gets set in my scenario.
In my practice other fills of variables through JSON-like syntax (xferEmails) works OK, even in MSIE. Not this particular one. What with window.close() could influence this?
Thanks for replies,
Jerome.

formData is initialized in the popup opened and within the scope of fillForm function. This is assigned to salesOrder variable of parent window. Did you re-initialize formData with salesOrder in parent window? If you didn't then it should be accessible via salesOrder.

Access a window by window name

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" [...] >

Javascript Bring window to front if already open in window.open?

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 !

Changing the address of the opener window in IE8

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);