Open admin dashboard in same tab by default

[mkllnk]

What? Why?

Relating to recent discussions around avoiding opening links in new tabs. We want to decide this on a case by case basis. So I'm putting this forward to discuss this particular case.

We have two links from the shop menu to the admin dashboard. One is visible for desktop views in the top right corner in a menu and the other one is visible on small screens in the sidebar menu.

I find the new tab annoying. Rachel made the point that sometimes you want to have the shop and the admin panel open at the same time to see the effects of your admin actions.

People can still open tabs themselves. Do they use it? Shall we create a feature toggle for this to test? We could remove the new tab on small screens and keep it on big screens...

What should we test?

• Open the admin dashboard from the menu on small and big screens.

Release notes

Changelog Category (reviewers may add a label for the release notes):

• User facing changes
• API changes (V0, V1, DFC or Webhook)
• Technical changes only
• Feature toggled

The title of the pull request will be included in the release notes.

Dependencies

Documentation updates

[dacook]

Yay, I agree!

Good points to consider, but as you say, it's not too hard to open in a new tab. Some users may find the change annoying, but it might be a chance for educating on standard browser functionality. So I suggest we add some tips to the release notes. Eg:

You can still open the admin interface in a new tab by holding ctrl/cmd when clicking. Or right-click/long press and choose "Open in new tab".

(that's not perfect, feel free to improve on it).

I also checked a couple of other online systems. Both Wordpress and Metabase don't open a new tab when you go to the admin interface.

[mkllnk]

From Amida:

For just about everything else, I open a new tab for every link because as admin things take a long time to load, so I'll right click and new tab e.g. when I click on 'Reports' or 'Orders'.

But not from the main page when you click the Admin link! I don't care either way, but I don't see any particular use for keeping the home/landing screen once you click on admin.

I can't see a reason why it would matter much to any other users either, since admin people are not really using the landing page, that is for customers.
I'd probably like it most if the main headings (Dashboard/Products/Order Cycles) open in a new tab instead. We often suggest to users to do this for ease of going back and forth between different functions. Couldn't say for sure whether they'd prefer it though!

[RachL]

thanks everyone, this is indeed a nice way to start!

Both Wordpress and Metabase don't open a new tab when you go to the admin interface.

Metabase is only an admin isn't, it? Regarding wordpress, most theme also allow users to edit straight on the user-facing view. So I'm not sure we can compare the use here, also I agree it's a good idea to look for inspiration.

Regarding the admin link from shopfront, I think I agree with Amida: very few users (and that's confirmed by Matomo) go from the home page to the admin dashboard.
However, a lot go from the shopfront of their own shop to the admin dashboard, using the same button. In this case I think they will find it handy to keep their shop open, as previously mentioned. Can we differentiate the behavior between the 2 pages?

it's not too hard to open in a new tab.

It's not when you know your keyboard shortcuts. Which our users don't. They use their mouse to do that. So it's an addition of 2 clics + you need to select the correct option.
Removing a tab on the other hand is way more easier.

On mobile however I agree we can stick to standards more easily. Perhaps an easy way to start should be to concentrate on mobile only?

[mkllnk]

Can we differentiate the behavior between the 2 pages?

Yes, we could. But then we have a special behaviour on just some pages. That's confusing, too.

Shall I put a feature-toggle on and we experiment?