PDF Links Do Not Open In New Tab in Browser
Moderators: Alexander Halser, Tim Green
- Sheri Steeves
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 5:06 pm
- Location: Ottawa, Ontario,CANADA
- Contact:
PDF Links Do Not Open In New Tab in Browser
Hey,
I have an issue where if I'm viewing a PDF file in the Edge or Chrome PDF viewer, my external links (other web pages, image links to YouTube videos) do not open in a new tab, but rather replace the open PDF in the current tab.
I've double checked and I've correctly set my external links to open in a "new window". If I open the PDF in Adobe Reader, clicking the link opens a new tab every time.
Is this a PDF viewer extension issue or is there something else I have to set to have this work?
I can send you links to my PDF's on the external website, if you need, to see the behaviour.
Sheri
I have an issue where if I'm viewing a PDF file in the Edge or Chrome PDF viewer, my external links (other web pages, image links to YouTube videos) do not open in a new tab, but rather replace the open PDF in the current tab.
I've double checked and I've correctly set my external links to open in a "new window". If I open the PDF in Adobe Reader, clicking the link opens a new tab every time.
Is this a PDF viewer extension issue or is there something else I have to set to have this work?
I can send you links to my PDF's on the external website, if you need, to see the behaviour.
Sheri
- Tim Green
- Site Admin
- Posts: 23189
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- Location: Bruehl, Germany
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Re: PDF Links Do Not Open In New Tab in Browser
Hi Sheri,
This is being changed in the next update. You can already get this functionality in the current beta if you want to try it out:
https://www.helpandmanual.com/download/ ... p-v822.exe
This is being changed in the next update. You can already get this functionality in the current beta if you want to try it out:
https://www.helpandmanual.com/download/ ... p-v822.exe
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)
Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)
Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
- Sheri Steeves
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 5:06 pm
- Location: Ottawa, Ontario,CANADA
- Contact:
Re: PDF Links Do Not Open In New Tab in Browser
Great, thanks Tim. I'll try it out. What is the timeline for 8.22 release?
- Sheri Steeves
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 5:06 pm
- Location: Ottawa, Ontario,CANADA
- Contact:
Re: PDF Links Do Not Open In New Tab in Browser
Tim,
I tried the new beta and have the same behaviour.
I tested both a link to an external web page, as well as a image link to a YouTube video; both again opened the link in the same tab, replacing the loaded PDF file.
I tried the new beta and have the same behaviour.
I tested both a link to an external web page, as well as a image link to a YouTube video; both again opened the link in the same tab, replacing the loaded PDF file.
- Tim Green
- Site Admin
- Posts: 23189
- Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2002 9:11 am
- Location: Bruehl, Germany
- Contact:
Re: PDF Links Do Not Open In New Tab in Browser
Hi Sheri,
Are you viewing the PDF in a web browser? Opening in a new tab probably won't work there, but it will in a proper PDF reader like Adobe Reader or Acrobat. Generally speaking, however, PDF is not suitable for interactive help and shouldn't really be used for it. A PDF is really nothing more than printer output in a file displayed on the screen with a special printer driver, and nothing Adobe can do can change that basic fact. If you need interactive help use a proper interactive format like WebHelp or eWriter. PDF is for printing and for reading linearly from start to finish.
Are you viewing the PDF in a web browser? Opening in a new tab probably won't work there, but it will in a proper PDF reader like Adobe Reader or Acrobat. Generally speaking, however, PDF is not suitable for interactive help and shouldn't really be used for it. A PDF is really nothing more than printer output in a file displayed on the screen with a special printer driver, and nothing Adobe can do can change that basic fact. If you need interactive help use a proper interactive format like WebHelp or eWriter. PDF is for printing and for reading linearly from start to finish.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)
Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)
Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
- Sheri Steeves
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 5:06 pm
- Location: Ottawa, Ontario,CANADA
- Contact:
Re: PDF Links Do Not Open In New Tab in Browser
Tim,
We're using all the formats - eWriter in the apps themself, PDF and HTML on the web.
Our help is available online as both embedded html, or as a PDF - user's choice.
A lot of our quickstarts are PDF links on pages though, with the pdfs having links to external pages/other PDFs. We may need to rethink/restructure this now.
This is something our web/support people brought to my attention and I couldn't remember if it ever worked that way, or if it was a "feature" of the PDF viewers inside the browsers. I wanted to confirm that it's "just how things work" and not a new feature/setting I needed to update or change.
Yes, it's when viewing the PDF in Google or Edge that we see this.Are you viewing the PDF in a web browser? Opening in a new tab probably won't work there, but it will in a proper PDF reader like Adobe Reader or Acrobat.
We're using all the formats - eWriter in the apps themself, PDF and HTML on the web.
Our help is available online as both embedded html, or as a PDF - user's choice.
A lot of our quickstarts are PDF links on pages though, with the pdfs having links to external pages/other PDFs. We may need to rethink/restructure this now.
This is something our web/support people brought to my attention and I couldn't remember if it ever worked that way, or if it was a "feature" of the PDF viewers inside the browsers. I wanted to confirm that it's "just how things work" and not a new feature/setting I needed to update or change.
- Tim Green
- Site Admin
- Posts: 23189
- Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2002 9:11 am
- Location: Bruehl, Germany
- Contact:
Re: PDF Links Do Not Open In New Tab in Browser
Hi Sheri,
Thanks for the confirmation. Unfortunately, links in a PDF displayed in a browser will always open in the same browser tab/window. That can't be changed as far as we can see. But again: PDF really isn't suitable for any kind of interactive documentation.
Thanks for the confirmation. Unfortunately, links in a PDF displayed in a browser will always open in the same browser tab/window. That can't be changed as far as we can see. But again: PDF really isn't suitable for any kind of interactive documentation.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)
Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)
Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
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Re: PDF Links Do Not Open In New Tab in Browser
How about putting the code for a PDF.js viewer onto your server and using it to display the PDFs in a new tab?Sheri Steeves wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:07 pmA lot of our quickstarts are PDF links on pages though, with the pdfs having links to external pages/other PDFs.
- You can download a prebuilt copy from http://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/getting_started/.
- You would create links that use target="_blank" to open in a new tab/window (details).
- And you would pass the PDF address as a (uri encoded) parameter (details).
Caveat: this probably only works if you have your WebHelp, the PDF.js viewer and your PDF files all being served from the same domain.