Skip to main content

Blogger Tweak - Open external links in new tab automatically

So, once upon a time, a really long while ago, I tried to customise and recreate a Blogger template which is not available anymore, but there's one thing I remember about it. I had a jQuery code written to make all the external links open in new tab. I also thought, it's about time I revive that idea and write a more intact code and here we go. 

So, there are two things to do. 

  1. Add Javascript code that detects external links and opens them in new tab.
  2. Add a CSS code to let users know that a particular link is going to be opened in new tab.

Adding a javascript code

Please follow the instructions below,
  1. Go to https://blogger.com dashboard
  2. Navigate to Themes > click the down arrow near "Customize" and then click on Edit HTML.


  3. Now scroll to the very end and paste the following code just before </body> tag.
    <script type='text/javascript'>
    document.body.addEventListener(&quot;mousedown&quot;,function(event){
          if(event.target.tagName === &quot;A&quot;){
          if(!event.target.href.includes(&quot;krishnainfotron&quot;) &amp;&amp; event.target.href.startsWith(&quot;http&quot;)){
          event.target.setAttribute(&quot;target&quot;,&quot;_blank&quot;);
          }
          }
          },true);
        </script>
  4. The code above should look like,


  5. Here, please replace krishnainfotron with the keyword that your blogspot and custom domain have in common. For example, my blogspot address is https://krishnainfotron.blogspot.com and my custom domain address is https://howtoblog.krishnainfotron.com. Since both of them have krishnainfotron in common, I have added that as keyword so that both blogspot and custom domain links in my blog will be detected as own link and open others in a new tab. 
  6. Once done, please click on the floppy icon at the top right which indicates Save.


Now, your blog will open all external links in new tab. Please test it out. Let's move on to the second part of the article,

Adding a CSS code

This CSS code is to show an indication that it's an external link and will open link in new tab. Please follow the instructions below,
  1. Go to https://blogger.com > Themes > Customize
  2. In the left, click on Advanced > In the appearing dropdown, choose "Add CSS"



  3. In the appearing text box, please paste the following code,
    a[href]:not([href*="krishnainfotron"]):not([href*="bp.blogspot"]):not([href*="blogger.com"]):not([href*="googleusercontent"]):not([href=""]):not([href^="/"]):not([href*="javascript"])::after {
    content: "";
    background-image: url('https://static.thenounproject.com/png/299638-200.png');
    background-size: 15px;
    display: inline-block;
    width: 15px;
    height: 15px;
    margin-left: 5px;
    margin-right: 5px;
    bottom: 0px;
    }
  4. Here, again please change your blog's keyword. The rest of the restrictions are to ignore image links, blogger original links etc., Although they will be opening in new tab, we don't indicate them for neatness.
  5. Click the floppy icon in the bottom right that represents save.


  6. Now you can see external links in my blog having a "Open in new tab" icon nearby as shown below,


Being all that done, it should be sufficient for opening external links in new tab at lowest code cost. Happy blogging everyone.

Please note that the image is taken from thenounproject.com with creative commons licence and it is best to give attribution for using it like I have given in my right side bar using a HTML/Javascript gadget,
(P.S - If at all do you face any problems like some links that are not supposed to open in new tab opens etc., please comment on this article so that I can check and rectify it)

See related posts:

Comments

  1. helpful but... it's opening all the links in new tab now. I mean even the links which leads to a blogpost of the same blog. It's a problem. please reply me how can I solve it. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It might be too late that you figured out the issue but am happy to help if you could create new thread at the blogger help forum -> https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/new

      Delete

Post a Comment

People also read,

How to secure your Google account and Blogger blog?

As a part of contributions to NCSAM, I am writing this article down on what all should we be aware of with respect to Google's security aspect and how to make sure your blog stays yours forever. What is NCSAM? It's National Cyber Security Awareness Month which is observed during the month of October every year in America. However, we all know cyber security is a world topic and is not limited to just the USA. So let me give some tips with respect to keeping the Google account safe and Blogger blogs safe from hackers. As I secure my account, I hope you people catch up too. In this blog post, I am going to tell about the following, Securing your Google account. Securing your Blogger blog. Securing your Google account Since Blogger is also part of your Google account, let's first see what all we need to do to keep our Google account safe. Don't share your password to anyone. Keep changing your password every 60 - 90 days. Make sure your password is str...

Blogger HTTPS for custom domain and Cloudflare

In BHF, there was a recent issue related to cloudflare where the browser screams the site is a phishing site. So I thought of writing up how does a service like cloudflare affect your blogger blog. What is Cloudflare? Well we have that written all over Wikipedia: Cloudflare . Let's go on with why Blogger users look for Cloudflare. Anciently Blogger users used Cloudflare for one simple reason. HTTPS for custom domains. So what happens when you introduce Cloudflare into your domain? DNS Redirect. Your custom domain will be configured with the proxy info provided by Cloudflare and when the request is hit, DNS redirect happens. DNS redirect is bad for the site's health. A number of reasons, but the most important is that some browsers, when it detects a DNS redirection, it thinks that it is a phishing site. What is a DNS redirect? I am trying to explain this in easy terms. I'll try not to be too technical. When a custom domain URL is hit, usually the domain reques...