# "Open all external links in a new tab" not honoured by keyboard activation
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/open-all-external-links-in-a-new-tab-not-honoured-by-keyboard-activation/32429
**Category:** Bug
**Tags:** keyboard
**Created:** [23.Август.2015 12:38:08 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/open-all-external-links-in-a-new-tab-not-honoured-by-keyboard-activation/32429 "2015-08-23T12:38:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@TechnoBear](https://meta.discourse.org/u/TechnoBear)
#### Post date: [23.Август.2015 12:38:08 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/open-all-external-links-in-a-new-tab-not-honoured-by-keyboard-activation/32429/1 "2015-08-23T12:38:08Z")
Steps to repro:
1. Check “Open all external links in a new tab” in preferences.
2. Open an external link using a mouse - it opens in a new tab as expected.
3. Open an external link using the keyboard. It opens in the current tab.
e.g. External link to SitePoint in this post:
> [@Near Real-time Discussions (not chat) - Optimizing Features](https://meta.discourse.org/t/near-real-time-discussions-not-chat-optimizing-features/32349/2):
>
> AFAIK polling happens every 30 seconds. If someone submits a post in a topic while you are composing a reply, that other post will be appended to the topic while you are composing your reply. I’m not so sure a type of “another member is currently replying to this topic” message would be a good thing. I most certainly would not want a “your reply will be put into queue and be posted as soon as it’s your turn” to happen. We have had a few “sessions” that went a lot better than they could have g…
Tested on Firefox 40 & Chromium Version 44.0.2403.89 Ubuntu 15.04 (64-bit), both on Ubuntu Gnome 15.04.
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### Author:  [@tgxworld](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tgxworld)
#### Post date: [02.Ноябрь.2015 05:54:21 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/open-all-external-links-in-a-new-tab-not-honoured-by-keyboard-activation/32429/2 "2015-11-02T05:54:21Z")
I just tried out Ctrl + Enter and it works as expected. Am I missing something? 😸
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### Author:  [@TechnoBear](https://meta.discourse.org/u/TechnoBear)
#### Post date: [02.Ноябрь.2015 17:19:31 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/open-all-external-links-in-a-new-tab-not-honoured-by-keyboard-activation/32429/3 "2015-11-02T17:19:31Z")
My point is that if my preferences are set to “Open all external links in a new tab”, I would expect that to be honoured whether I click the link with the mouse or press Enter on a keyboard.
Yes, I can use Ctrl + Enter to open a link in a new tab, just as I can use right-click or middle click to open a link in a new tab with a mouse. But with my preferences set as they are, that shouldn’t be necessary.
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### Author:  [@tgxworld](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tgxworld)
#### Post date: [03.Ноябрь.2015 06:20:37 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/open-all-external-links-in-a-new-tab-not-honoured-by-keyboard-activation/32429/4 "2015-11-03T06:20:37Z")
I had a brief look and discovered that using enter on a link doesn’t track it as a “click”.
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### Author:  [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)
#### Post date: [21.Февраль.2018 21:55:51 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/open-all-external-links-in-a-new-tab-not-honoured-by-keyboard-activation/32429/5 "2018-02-21T21:55:51Z")
Just tested and it works fine when pressing Enter.
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### Author:  [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)
#### Post date: [21.Февраль.2018 21:55:54 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/open-all-external-links-in-a-new-tab-not-honoured-by-keyboard-activation/32429/6 "2018-02-21T21:55:54Z")