fix(angular): honor modifier-click on routerLink

packages/angular/common/src/directives/navigation/router-link-delegate.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { LocationStrategy } from '@angular/common';
-import { ElementRef, OnChanges, OnInit, Directive, HostListener, Input, Optional } from '@angular/core';
+import { ElementRef, OnChanges, OnDestroy, OnInit, Directive, HostListener, Input, Optional } from '@angular/core';
 import { Router, RouterLink } from '@angular/router';
 import type { AnimationBuilder, RouterDirection } from '@ionic/core/components';
 
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import { NavController } from '../../providers/nav-controller';
 @Directive({
   selector: ':not(a):not(area)[routerLink]',
 })
-export class RouterLinkDelegateDirective implements OnInit, OnChanges {
+export class RouterLinkDelegateDirective implements OnInit, OnChanges, OnDestroy {
   @Input()
   routerDirection: RouterDirection = 'forward';
 
@@ -32,12 +32,51 @@ export class RouterLinkDelegateDirective implements OnInit, OnChanges {
   ngOnInit(): void {
     this.updateTargetUrlAndHref();
     this.updateTabindex();
+
+    /**
+     * Ionic components like `ion-item` render a native anchor in their shadow DOM,
+     * so a modifier click (ctrl/meta/shift/alt) or a non-`_self` target should let
+     * the browser handle the navigation natively (new tab, new window, download)
+     * instead of navigating in-app.
+     *
+     * We listen in the capture phase so this runs before Angular's `RouterLink`
+     * handler and our own bubble-phase `onClick`. On a native-navigation intent it
+     * stops propagation to cancel the in-app navigation, but leaves `preventDefault`
+     * alone so the native anchor can still act.
+     */
+    this.elementRef.nativeElement.addEventListener('click', this.onCaptureClick, { capture: true });
   }
 
   ngOnChanges(): void {
     this.updateTargetUrlAndHref();
   }
 
+  ngOnDestroy(): void {
+    this.elementRef.nativeElement.removeEventListener('click', this.onCaptureClick, { capture: true });
+  }
+
+  private onCaptureClick = (ev: Event): void => {
+    if (this.opensNatively(ev)) {
+      ev.stopImmediatePropagation();
+    }
+  };
+
+  /**
+   * True when the browser should handle the click natively instead of routing
+   * in-app: a modifier was held (ctrl/meta/shift/alt), or the host targets
+   * something other than `_self`. This mirrors the modifier set Angular's own
+   * `RouterLink` guards on, so an Ionic `routerLink` behaves like a plain anchor
+   * for new-tab, new-window, and download intents.
+   */
+  private opensNatively(ev: Event): boolean {
+    if (ev instanceof MouseEvent && (ev.ctrlKey || ev.metaKey || ev.shiftKey || ev.altKey)) {
+      return true;
+    }
+
+    const target = this.elementRef.nativeElement.target;
+    return target != null && target !== '' && target !== '_self';
+  }
+
   /**
    * The `tabindex` is set to `0` by default on the host element when
    * the `routerLink` directive is used. This causes issues with Ionic

packages/angular/test/base/e2e/src/standalone/router-link-modifier-click.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+import { test, expect, type Page } from '@playwright/test';
+
+/**
+ * Issue #26394: a modifier click (ctrl/meta/shift/alt) or a non-`_self` target on
+ * a `routerLink` over a non-anchor Ionic component (ion-item, ion-button) must let
+ * the browser handle the navigation natively (new tab, window, download) instead
+ * of navigating the current page in-app.
+ *
+ * Playwright headless can't dispatch a real modifier-click or observe the
+ * browser's native new-tab default, so we dispatch a synthetic click on the
+ * host (not the shadow anchor, which would fire its own default navigation) and
+ * assert the JS handler chain leaves the page unchanged with `preventDefault`
+ * uncalled.
+ */
+test.describe('RouterLink: modifier click', () => {
+  const dispatchClick = (page: Page, selector: string, modifiers: Record<string, boolean>) =>
+    page.evaluate(
+      ({ selector, mods }: { selector: string; mods: Record<string, boolean> }) => {
+        const item = document.querySelector(selector) as HTMLElement;
+        const ev = new MouseEvent('click', { bubbles: true, composed: true, cancelable: true, button: 0, ...mods });
+        item.dispatchEvent(ev);
+        return { defaultPrevented: ev.defaultPrevented };
+      },
+      { selector, mods: modifiers }
+    );
+
+  test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto('/standalone/router-link');
+  });
+
+  test('normal click navigates the current page in-app', async ({ page }) => {
+    const { defaultPrevented } = await dispatchClick(page, '#modifier-item', {});
+
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.*\/standalone\/popover/);
+    // The delegate prevents the default to stop a hard page reload.
+    expect(defaultPrevented).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  for (const modifier of ['ctrlKey', 'metaKey', 'shiftKey', 'altKey']) {
+    test(`${modifier}+click does not navigate the current page and allows native handling`, async ({
+      page,
+    }, testInfo) => {
+      testInfo.annotations.push({
+        type: 'issue',
+        description: 'https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/issues/26394',
+      });
+
+      const { defaultPrevented } = await dispatchClick(page, '#modifier-item', { [modifier]: true });
+
+      // Give any in-app navigation a chance to run before asserting it did not.
+      await page.waitForTimeout(300);
+      await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.*\/standalone\/router-link/);
+      // Default is left intact so the browser can handle the link natively
+      // (new tab, new window, or download, depending on the browser and OS).
+      expect(defaultPrevented).toBe(false);
+    });
+  }
+
+  test('click on a non-_self target does not navigate the current page and allows a native new tab', async ({
+    page,
+  }, testInfo) => {
+    testInfo.annotations.push({
+      type: 'issue',
+      description: 'https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/issues/26394',
+    });
+
+    const { defaultPrevented } = await dispatchClick(page, '#target-item', {});
+
+    // Give any in-app navigation a chance to run before asserting it did not.
+    await page.waitForTimeout(300);
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.*\/standalone\/router-link/);
+    // Default is left intact so the browser can open the link in a new tab.
+    expect(defaultPrevented).toBe(false);
+  });
+});

packages/angular/test/base/src/app/standalone/router-link/router-link.component.html

@@ -10,3 +10,9 @@
 <ion-button routerLink="/standalone/popover" routerDirection="root">
   I'm an ion-button
 </ion-button>
+<ion-item id="modifier-item" routerLink="/standalone/popover" routerDirection="root">
+  I'm an ion-item
+</ion-item>
+<ion-item id="target-item" routerLink="/standalone/popover" routerDirection="root" target="_blank">
+  I'm an ion-item with a target
+</ion-item>

packages/angular/test/base/src/app/standalone/router-link/router-link.component.ts

@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 import { Component } from '@angular/core';
 import { RouterLink } from '@angular/router';
-import { IonRouterLink, IonRouterLinkWithHref } from '@ionic/angular/standalone';
+import { IonItem, IonRouterLink, IonRouterLinkWithHref } from '@ionic/angular/standalone';
 
 @Component({
   selector: 'app-router-link',
   templateUrl: './router-link.component.html',
   standalone: true,
-  imports: [RouterLink, IonRouterLink, IonRouterLinkWithHref],
+  imports: [RouterLink, IonItem, IonRouterLink, IonRouterLinkWithHref],
 })
 export class RouterLinkComponent {}