WordPress 2.0 offers a new feature in the “quicktags” menu- instead of just creating a link to a url you now are presented with 3 options.

Link URL is just like before- where you add the full link that you want to link to. Note: in WordPress 1.5 the default box for this had “http://” leading your entry- now you either have to paste an entire link in- or remember to add “http://” before you put your link in.
Target: gives you the option of either having the link open in the same window, or opening a new window. A lot of people will misuse this option opting to always open an external site in a new window- this is really tough for people using screen readers (blind people) who use the back button on their browser to navigate to the previous page- so please, think about accessibility when choosing this option.

The “Title” option is brand new to WordPress and is another key part of code compliance for the blind- and can be a big help to those of us who want to know where we are linking to. This creates the text that displays when you hover your mouse over a link popping up an explaination of where that link will take you.

An example: If I write “my favorite blog on advertising is www.thenextwave.biz/tnw” and make it a link, it is clear to everyone where I am sending you (and will be valuable for your readers that might print out your page)

However, I could also do the same by saying “you can check out this brilliant blog on advertising by clicking here.”

Both link the same way- but the second example is a mystery to those who may want to know where the link will take them before they click.
By hovering over the link you get this pop-up title which can tell a reader where the link will take them.

(click on images for enlarged view)

One last thing about the link tool- is how to make a link to an e-mail message. If I want an e-mail address to launch the default e-mail client (hopefully Thunderbird) you just type: mailto:[email protected] in the URL data entry field (where you would normally type: http://domainname.com) and you will have an e-mail window ready to go. It’s that simple.