How to open a sequence of small windows always in the same window?

Question

I know how to open a small window:

function SmallWindow(theURL,winName)
  {window.open(theURL,winName,'toolbar=yes,scrollbars=yes,
menubar=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=800,height=500,left=300,top=200');}

being called as

<a href="http://newURL.html" onclick="SmallWindow(this.href, ''); return false">
  Click here</a>

The problem is that with many clicks in various links of a big window this produces a sequence of different small windows. I want all those small windows overlapping each other on the same window. I tried to give a window name, WIN

function SmallWindow(theURL,winName)
{window.open(theURL,"WIN",'toolbar=yes,scrollbars=yes,menubar=yes,toolbar=yes,
resizable=yes,width=800,height=500,left=300,top=200');

but when a new small window is opened, the browser does not jump to it, and the user does not get aware that the new small window was opened!

I could not find an answer to this problem. Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

I think you can bring the popup window to the from like this:

var newWin = window.open(url, "WIN", ...);
newWin.focus();

As you already found out, it is important to always use the same window name (e.g. "WIN"). Otherwise a new window will be opened with every window.open() call.

The focus() method will then bring the window to the front.

Answer 2

The call to window.open will return a reference to the new window (or existing window in the case where a window with the same name is already open). You can then call the focus() method on that window to bring it to the front.

function SmallWindow(theURL, winName)
{
  var myWindow = window.open(theURL, winName,'toolbar=yes,scrollbars=yes,menubar=yes,toolbar=yes, resizable=yes,width=800,height=500,left=300,top=200');
  myWindow.focus();
}