Frame Targets and BASE TARGET
frames 1996 partlyNaming a frame so links in one pane load in another, and the four magic target names.
In 2026: The reserved targets still work. _new was never one of them: people used it constantly as a synonym for _blank, and browsers treated it as an ordinary window name, so every link with target=_new after the first reused the same window.
Where it came from: Netscape Navigator 2.0 frames documentation, 1996. rel=noopener was added to the HTML standard in 2016. MDN ↗
<!-- Every link on this page loads into the frame named main -->
<base target="main">
<a href="page1.html">Loads in the main frame</a>
<a href="page2.html" target="_self">Loads in this frame</a>
<a href="page3.html" target="_parent">Loads in the frameset that holds this one</a>
<a href="page4.html" target="_top">Breaks out of all frames</a>
<a href="page5.html" target="_blank">New window</a>
<!-- The one that was never real -->
<a href="page6.html" target="_new">Not a reserved name. This is just a window called _new.</a>
<!-- The 2026 note: pair _blank with rel, or the new page can reach back -->
<a href="page7.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Safe new tab</a>