Appendix G: Creating Links

The World Wide Web is composed of web pages residing on millions of computers around the world. Each computer that hosts web pages (also called a web server) has a unique name.

Each web page on each web server also has a unique name or URL (see Appendix B for more about URL's). Names of web pages have several components. For example, the following URL (web address)

http://www.hccweb.com:80/manual/hccmanB.html

has the following components:

the protocol
http://
the name of the web server that hosts that web page
www.hccweb.com
the port number (optional)
:80
directory or directories
/manual/
page
hccmanB.html

More examples of server names are shown below in bold characters. The remainder of the address to the right of the server address is part of the page address. (The server address may be the same as the address of a default web page).

     ORGANIZATION	        ADDRESS OF WEB SITE
   -------------------------------------------------
   The White House           http://www.whitehouse.gov
   Illinois State Library    http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/library/isl_home.html
   Ford Motor Company        http://www.ford.com
   NBC-TV                    http://www.nbc.com
   Carthage Public Library   http://www.carthage.lib.il.us/library/

Note: For a more technical description of URLs, please see Appendix B.

Making Links to pages hosted on a different web server (absolute URLs)

Obtain the address of the web page to which you want to make the link. This address is displayed in the location or address field in your web browser when you view that web page.
use the xxLINKxx(URL,TEXT) option in the text block, list block, or heading block to convert this address into a link.

Examples:
In the following examples, the resulting link is on the first line. The text of the link (which will be visible on the web page) is on the second line. The web address (URL) is on the third line, and the code to use in HCC to create the link is on the fourth line.

The White House
The White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov
xxLINKxx(http://www.whitehouse.gov,The White House)
Illinois State Library
Illinois State Library
http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/library/isl_home.html
xxLINKxx(http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/library/isl_home.html,Illinois State Library)
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
http://www.ford.com
xxLINKxx(http://www.ford.com,Ford Motor Company)

Links from your web page to another page hosted on the same web server (relative URLs)

Step 1. Identify the server. To use relative URLs to make links between two pages, the first part of the address of the page (the server portion) of both pages must be the same. The server portion is the part between the "http://" and the next "/". If the server portion is different, use the directions for making links to a page hosted on a different server (see above).

For example:

The following 2 web pages are on the Same Server (http://www.outfitters.com/)
http://www.outfitters.com/illinois/index.html
http://www.outfitters.com/infobahn/
The following 2 web pages are on Different Servers (http://www.outfitters.com/ and http://www.ashland.lib.il.us/)
http://www.outfitters.com/illinois/index.html
http://www.ashland.lib.il.us/library/

Step 2. Obtain the address of the web page to which you want to make a link. An easy method is to look at the page manager mode when editing the file you will link to. The top portion of the Manager box lists the address of the current page. That address may be used to form a relative URL.

For example:

Step 3. Insert the Link. Use the xxLINKxx(URL,TEXT) option in the text block, list block, or heading block to create the link.

For example:

Using the example above, insert the following to make a link to the page index.html:

xxLINKxx(/index.html,Go To Main Page)

Note: Relative URLs do not have "http://" at the beginning of the address. Often, they begin with a "/".

Note: It is also possible to make links between two pages on the same web server in exactly the same way as those on a different web server. The link must include the absolute URL of the web page (including the "http://") While in Manager Mode, if you click on the link, you will be removed from Manager Mode and will have to re-enter your username and password to continue editing.

Note: Do not include the ":81" port number which follows the name of the web server for your library. If you include this number, ALL viewers following your link to the next web page will be asked to submit a username and password to login as a manager.