[Web4lib] IE7 has no back button in popups

[Nancy E. Sosna Bohm]

With FireFox and IE7 having tabbed browsing as the default, target="_blank"
is no longer a viable option for links that have content that is peripheral
to the purpose of an instructional web page and that are off-site.
So I employed a small javascript, but discovered that when IE7 is open via a
javascript popup command, even if toolbar=yes, there are no back or forward
buttons. An example from the commercial sector is the SFX link resolver
window when launched from PsycInfo via Ovid.

I am as surprised about the lack of discussion of this that I have found
online.
Am I the only one perturbed by the disappearing back button in IE7?

I realize that the use of javascript and target="_blank" are controversial,
and perhaps even considered bad practices. But sometimes they make sense.
The script-triggered window that opens at a small size is especially useful
when the linked page serves as a footnote or illustration for the content of
the parent page.

Nancy E. Sosna Bohm
Associate Reference Librarian
Lake Forest College
sosna at lakeforest.edu