Link Test

Fifteen ways to send a tap somewhere else. Tap each one, come back, say what happened. Every destination is real, so the bottom half is worth keeping.

Checking

Getting out

All six go to the same place, the Slaughter Lane theater page. Only the way they ask differs.

  1. 1Target blank

    A link with target="_blank" rel="noopener". This is what every outbound link in Alamo Watch does today.

    Slaughter Lane theater page
  2. 2window.open

    The same request made in code the instant you tap, rather than written on the link. Some browsers treat the two differently.

  3. 3window.open, no opener

    Same again, but cutting the tie between the two windows. On some versions that alone changes where it lands.

  4. 4Form submit

    A form aimed at a new window. An old trick for when the popup blocker refuses an ordinary window.open.

  5. 6x-safari-https in code

    The same address, sent by navigating instead of by link. Worth separating: schemes and links are handled by different parts of iOS.

Slaughter Lane, for real

Directions, the phone, what is playing, what they wrote. These are the ones you will actually use, and they are also the interesting cases, because handing off to Maps or Phone is a different problem to opening a web page.

  1. 7Apple Maps, the place

    Alamo's own Apple Maps address for this theater, taken from their schedule feed. Should drop you on the place card.

    Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane
  2. 8Apple Maps, driving there

    Straight to turn by turn from wherever you are. 5701 W Slaughter Ln, Bldg F.

    Drive there
  3. 9Apple Maps by scheme

    The same drive asked for with maps:// rather than a web address. Skips the browser entirely if iOS lets it.

  4. 10Google Maps, driving there

    By coordinates, so it cannot land on the wrong Alamo. 30.198783, -97.868787.

    Drive there
  5. 11Call the theater

    512-861-7060, the Slaughter Lane box office. A tel: link, which is a third kind of handoff again.

    512-861-7060
  6. 12The theater page

    Hours, the menu, and the parking directions Alamo points you at, which are not the same as the map pin.

    Directions and parking
  7. 13A showtime

    Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has 113 showings at Slaughter Lane alone. Deep link into a listing, the way a card in the watcher does it.

    Spider-Man: Brand New Day
  8. 14An article

    The Bruce Campbell piece, the one that started all this. Same address the Articles tab uses.

    Bruce Campbell hits the road

The one that strands you

Left for last on purpose. If this behaves the way I think it does, it will replace this page with drafthouse.com and there will be no back button, no address bar and no way out. Getting back: swipe up into the app switcher, flick Link Test away, open it again. Your answers are saved before it goes.

  1. 15Plain link

    An ordinary link with nothing on it at all. The whole reason every outbound link in the watcher carries target="_blank".

    Slaughter Lane theater page