Directories and Creating Links within a Web Site
(Supplement for Training Session 2) - Summer/Fall 1998

Directories

• Directories are used by computer systems to group files and make them more manageable.
• "A Directory can be likened to a drawer in a file cabinet." Inside the drawer are several file folders."
• The analogy above has become so common, some computer systems such as Windows 95 and Macintosh use the icon of a file folder to indicate a directory. "Folder" is often used synonymously with "Directory."
• Web sites are also structured using directories. They are an important organizational tool, allowing you to group related information into categories.
• In the HCC Manager Program, they also allow you to control who has access to specific areas of information.
• In you web site, your directories will hold 3 basic types of information:
  1. Web Pages
  2. Graphics
  3. Subdirectories
• "Any directory contained within another directory is call a subdirectory."
• Your web site itself is considered a directory. All other information is contained with subdirectories of the web site.
• "A directory structure is often compared to a family tree. At the top of the family tree you have the directory that holds all other directories."
• This main directory is also know as the root directory. It is typically symbolized by a slash (/).
• A slash is also used to separate a directory from a subdirectory and from a file name.

3 Ways to Create Links

1. Use the complete URL (web address) - best for external links

xxLINKxx(http://www.town.lib.il.us/community/churches/baptist.html, First Baptist Church)

2. Use the Absolute pathname - best for creating links within web site

The absolute pathname uses the full name of the file, from the root (main) directory through each subdirectory to the file. Absolute pathnames begin with a slash (/) indicating the filename is relative to the root directory.
xxLINKxx(/community/churches/baptist.html, First Baptist Church)

3. Use the Relative pathname (for more advanced users)

A relative pathname indicates where the file is in relation to a current directory. Because there is no slash at the beginning of the pathname, the computer knows the pathway is relative to the current directory.

• If the file is in a subdirectory of your current location, just start the pathname from where you are.
  xxLINKxx(churches/baptist.html, First Baptist Church)
• Relative pathnames also work when moving up through the directory tree. Two dots (..) are used as a shorthand for the directory above the current directory. Use two dots separated by a dash to indicate each directory you want to move up through.
  xxLINKxx(../../library/index.html, Local Library)