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Specialty Links
When you are preparing links for your
websites, be aware that you can link to Internet sites such as
FTP, Gopher, and newsgroups as well as to non-Internet
documents that you create, such as PDF and Word documents.
Sections of this document include the
following:
When adding links to sites that are not HTML
files, it is important to keep in mind the requirements for
opening the links. The following provides a summary of the
types of alternative links covered in this document and
special requirements that may exist for users.
- Gopher
- Requirements: None
Gopher links are not as popular as they once were due to the
popularity of the graphical Web. However, except for the
prefix of the URL, creating the link is the same.
- UseNet News
- Requirements: None
EXAMPLE:
bionet.agroforestry
When developing UseNet News links, you should indicate that
it is a News link in your text. Not all browsers support
News and not all users know how to setup their browser to
use a newsgroup.
- FTP
- Requirements: None
EXAMPLE:
Library of Congress FTP Site
When developing FTP links, you want to provide the user with
sufficient information about the file that will be
downloaded. For example, if you are going to provide a link
to download software that has special requirements or
installation instructions, you may want to also include a
link to the web page that has that information.
- Telnet
- Requirements: Telnet program and setup
(e.g., QVT Terminal or NCSA Telnet)
EXAMPLE:
Library of Congress
For users to access a telnet link, they must have the
software installed on their computer and their browser must
be configured to open the software when the link is
accessed.
As some telnet sites require a username
for connecting or have special instructions for
disconnecting, you may want to include some tips for working
with the site.
- Email
- Requirements: Special setup in Netscape
or Internet Explorer
For more information about email programs and browser
compatibility, see the
Mailto Bulletin in the WebDev collection.
- Microsoft Word
- Requirements: Microsoft Word and setup
EXAMPLE:
Off-Campus Access of Network Drives on Windows XP
In order for users to be able to view your Microsoft Word
link, they must have the program installed and setup on
their computer. Since Word is a popular program, these links
can be very useful. Rather than re-typing the Word document
into your web page, you can simply link to the document
itself.
- Adobe Acrobat PDF
- Requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader and
setup
EXAMPLE:
Blugold
Card Office Summer Camp/Conference Form
Adobe Acrobat files (PDF) are useful because their
appearance is uniform regardless of each individual's
computer settings. The formatting of the document does not
change. In order to view the file, users must have Acrobat
installed and setup on their computer.
 Creating
Specialty Links
Use the same process, with minor exceptions,
for creating specialty links as you do for linking to other
pages on the Web. This section discusses
types of specialty links and shows the corresponding
Link text box of the Properties pane.
For specific instructions on creating the link, refer to
Linking to Internet Resources.
Referencing Specialty Links
To help reduce frustration for users, we
recommend that you alert them to the type of link that you
have provided if it does not open another website. One way to
do so is to mention the type of link/website specifically.
EXAMPLE: Telnet
to the Library of Congress.
Using the Link Text Box
When you create a specialty link to Internet
resources, you will have to enter the complete URL in the
Link text box located in the Properties pane.
For specific instructions on creating the link, see
Linking to Internet Resources. To link to Word documents
or PDF files in your collection, you will browse to the file.
For specific instructions on creating the link, see
Linking to Pages in Your Collection.
| Link Type |
Example of the Link Text Box |
| Gopher |
 |
| UseNet |
 |
| FTP |
|
| Telnet |
 |
| Microsoft Word |
 |
| Adobe Acrobat |
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Creating
Email Links
You can also add a link that allows Web
users to send email to a specific address. Web users viewing
your web page with a browser that supports this ability can
click a Mailto link to open a blank pre-addressed
email form. Additionally, you can specify a
subject line for email received from these links.
-
Place your cursor in the document where the
link should appear
OR
Select the text that will become the email link
NOTE: This is
often the person's name or email address.
-
From the Insert menu, select
Email Link
OR
From the Insert pane, on the Common tab,
click EMAIL LINK
The Email Link dialog box appears.
-
In the Text text box, type the text
that should be linked
If you selected text, it appears here.
-
In the E-Mail text box, type the
complete email address
EXAMPLE:
username@uwec.edu
-
Click OK
Specifying a Subject
Line for Email Links
When users click on an email
link, they may not specify a subject in the Subject
line of the email. For example, if they click on an email link
that says Comments, they may assume that the subject is
understood. However, that email address may receive messages
that pertain to more than just comments. You can specify a
subject line for email links so that messages from a link are
more readily identifiable.
-
Create the email link
-
Select the email link
-
If necessary, change to Code and Design
View or Code View
The linked text is highlighted in the code.
- Add the following text to the code:
?Subject=your text here
EXAMPLE:
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