Most web surfers (just about anybody who uses a computer
connected to the Internet) follow hyperlinks by clicking
on them with their left (or, on the Macintosh, the only)
mouse button.
This opens the new document in the browser window,
replacing the one that had been there.
There is another method to open a new document –
I term it power surfing – in a new window.
This leaves the current document undisturbed and solves
two common problems:
You're part-way done reading an interesting
web page and you see an interesting hyperlink.
You want both to finish reading the current
document and to start reading the new one.
You click a hyperlink and must wait idly
until the new document downloads into the
old window.
By opening the new document in a new window,
you can pop the old window to the top and
finish reading it while the new one downloads in the
new window. You don't lose the old document and
you needn't wait while the new one downloads.
Technique
Here's how:
Macintosh: Click the mouse button
on the hyperlink, pressing it a little
longer than usual.
Windows: Click the right-hand mouse button
on the hyperlink and, in the menu that pops up,
choose "Open in new window."
Unix: Click the middle mouse button
on the hyperlink.