How to disable browser navigation buttons

[Coen]

In order to force users to properly safe their inputs we ‘d like to prevent them to use any browser navi (forward, backward, refresh and home).
What is the best way to do this, cross browser proof???

[Paulie_D]

What is the best way to do this.

The answer is DON’T.

Frankly, I cannot think of ANY reason to do this. If I found that my browser buttons did not work on your site I would run away as fast as I could, never come back and tell my friends to avoid it.

I assume you mean ‘save their input details` or something like that.

I think you are trying to solve a specific problem in completely the wrong way.

[nixnerd]

Yeah, I gotta second @Paulie_D. I’m ALL FOR making sites do things they’re “not supposed to do.” But… when you infringe upon the user’s freedom to leave your site, that goes beyond avant garde and moves into the territory of downright malicious.

The only way to do this would be to find and use an exploit for all the browsers you want to target. Don’t do it. Don’t even try.

[nixnerd]

You can check if a user is trying to leave a page without saving their information

Codepen does this and it’s perfectly fine. That is an acceptable tactic.

[Coen]

Thanks for your suggestions above. I will look into them. I would like to stress there are no malicious intentions here. Let me go into more detail. We have an application by which users can book reservations online. We abandoned the safe button as a design principle because we don’t want to bother our users with superfluous clicks. Just checking a checkbox should be enough to write the reservation into our database. All fine so far. But some users use their browser back button after making a reservation and respond positively to the browser message “Do you want to reload the previous page?” and then later blame us for our system to fail in storing their reservation. Our only defense is to explain NOT to use the browser back button again but use our in-system back button instead. To get rid off this problem for once and for ever we would like to shut off browser navigation. I feel The Doc’s solution (or Codepen?) could be an improvement. But even better would be to turn the browser navi buttons into ghosted…. Suggestions are welcomed. I will keep you posted.

[shaneisme]

Basically you can’t do it, and you shouldn’t.

Your issue is a problem with design, not the browser.

[Paulie_D]

Our only defense is to explain NOT to use the browser back button again but use our in-system back button instead.

And what’s wrong with that?

I see this many times on many sites and I do a LOT of online hotel and flight bookings as another aspect of my job.

[Coen]

For now we’ll settle for the quick and easy possibility 2 and in time we’ll apply possibility 1.

Thanks a lot to everybody four your advice. Great!

[Author]

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