HTML Links – The target Attribute

Normally, clicking a link opens the linked page in the same browser window. To alter this behavior, you can set a different target for the link using the target attribute.

The target attribute determines the location where the linked document will open.

Possible values for the target attribute include:

• _self: This is the default setting, where the document opens in the same window or tab where the link was clicked.
• _blank: This option opens the document in a new window or tab.
• _parent: This choice opens the document in the parent frame of the current frame.
• _top: Selecting this will open the document in the entire window, overriding any frames.

Example

Absolute URLs vs. Relative URLs

Both examples above employ an absolute URL (a complete web address) within the href attribute.

A local link (a link to a page within the same website) is designated with a relative URL (excluding the “https://www” portion):

Example

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