PCA/ACA

Adding a link / editing a link on the site

Key terms and concepts: 

Kinds of links: There are two kinds of links:.

  • ABSOLUTE links include a full URL (web address). These will direct a user to a specific web page, and look like this: http://www.mywebaddress.com/mywebpage.html
  • RELATIVE links include just the URL content for this website. If they start with a slash, they resolve to the home address of the site, and look like this: /mywebpage.html Relative links are preferred over Absolute links as the system can adjust them dynamically if the page moves. Absolute links must be updated by hand.  

Link targets: In order to build a link, you need to know the URL to which it is being directed. The easiest way to do this is to open a web browser in another window/tab and navigate to the web page to which you’re making a link. Then highlight the address (at the top of the screen) and copy it to your clipboard (using CTRL-C in windows).

Link text: the words you click on to activate the link

Link type: URL - a web address; Link anchor in text - a link to a spot further down on the same page; email - a link that opens an email

Protocol:  the prefix to the text you’re using. Usually http:// or https:// or other.

URL: the address or content to which you want to link

 

Making a new link or editing an existing link:

Preparation: Open the link destination (the “target page”) in one window, and open the page you’re editing in a second window. 

  1. Click the “edit” link under the title of the page.
  2. Copy the URL from the address bar of the target page.
  3. a. ADDING A NEW LINK: Add the link text to the page you’re editing. Highlight the link text and click the link button in the toolbar (looks like a little chain icon)
    b. EDITING AN EXISTING LINK: Click on the link you are editing and click the link button in the toolbar (looks like a little chain icon)
  4. a. Absolute Link: paste the target URL in the URL box of the pop-up. Make sure the Protocol says http://
    b. Relative link: paste the target URL in the URL box of the pop up, and delete everything before the first “/”. Change the Protocol to “<other>”
  5. Click “OK.”
  6. Click “save” at the bottom of the page.
  7. Look at the newly edited page and try the link to make sure it works.