How To Open Mailto Link In Chrome With Window.open Without Creating A New Tab?

I am creating a Google Chrome extension and am trying to open a custom url scheme with (window.open) without having a new blank tab open up. For sake of argument lets try the 'mail

Solution 1:

Since this is a chrome extension, there's a different frame of reference for what _self and other targets mean. Instead of trying to use mailto, how about sending them to a site's "Contact Me" page?

I think this offers easier usability for the end user. Honestly, I don't have a default mail application, even if I did have outlook or some dedicated application, I wouldn't use it because GMail is just awesome (personal preference, but I bet I'm not alone). For example, I use an extension to change all mailto links to open GMail so I can email somebody through it. My extensions won't modify your extensions javascript or mailto links (part of the sandboxing).

With a "Contact Me" page, you can not only hide your email address, but allow people to contact you on your terms (no attachments, etc.).

Solution 2:

Since you're in a Chrome Extension context, you should be using chrome.tabs APIs. If you have an extra tab floating around, you can just close it via http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/tabs.html#method-remove