open a new tab only if it is not already open

Question

Is it possible to open a new tab only if it is not already open.

index.php

$('.title').on('click', function(){
    if tab `images.php` is already open -> go to that tab
    else {window.open('images.php', '_blank')  // open a new tab
});

So I don't want to open a new tab if it already exists.

In both cases, current tab (index.php) stays as open, but it's not active.

Related question which may be helpful (if it's not a duplicate): https://stackoverflow.com/questions/23690666/check-if-my-website-is-open-in-another-tab — TimSch, Nov 17 '18 at 20:35

Bhojendra Rauniyar · Accepted Answer · 2018-11-17T20:47:38.333

2

Just give the window a name and also make sure that doesn't start with an underscore, otherwise it will behave like html's _target attribute:

$('.title').on('click', function(){
  window.open('images.php', 'myWindow')
  // it will open the same window on following clicks
});

If you don't want to reload the page:

var myWindow = null;
$('.title').on('click', function(){
  if(myWindow == null || myWindow.closed)
    myWindow = window.open('images.php', 'myWindow')
  else
    myWindow.focus()
});

You may read more about window.open in the docs.

edited Nov 17 '18 at 20:47

answered Nov 17 '18 at 20:35

Bhojendra Rauniyar

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will that also cause the opened page to reload? – TimSch Nov 17 '18 at 20:37
how can I set the window name, pls? – Nov 17 '18 at 20:40
@TimSch Yes. And puerto , the second argument is the window name as in the example. – Bhojendra Rauniyar Nov 17 '18 at 20:41
@BhojendraRauniyar, sory, can't understand, I FIRSTLY need to check if the window is open, so I need to set its name before `window.open...` – Nov 17 '18 at 20:44
1

@BhojendraRauniyar, not checked, but seems it could work. Thanks. – Nov 17 '18 at 20:51

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 17 '18 at 20:41

Copied from MDN window.open() docs "Best Practices" section

var windowObjectReference = null; // global variable

function openFFPromotionPopup() {
  if(windowObjectReference == null || windowObjectReference.closed)
  /* if the pointer to the window object in memory does not exist
     or if such pointer exists but the window was closed */

  {
    windowObjectReference = window.open("http://www.spreadfirefox.com/",
   "PromoteFirefoxWindowName", "resizable,scrollbars,status");
    /* then create it. The new window will be created and
       will be brought on top of any other window. */
  }
  else
  {
    windowObjectReference.focus();
    /* else the window reference must exist and the window
       is not closed; therefore, we can bring it back on top of any other
       window with the focus() method. There would be no need to re-create
       the window or to reload the referenced resource. */
  };
}

open a new tab only if it is not already open

2 Answers2