TechNote (Archived)

Making hyperlinks with Contribute

One reason the World Wide Web is easy to use is because it allows you to easily jump from your page to any other web page with a single click. A link, technically called a hyperlink, is a small instruction added to the page that tells the browser to go to the specified page when someone clicks on the link.

Making links is easy, and this document explains the different kinds of links and how to make them in Macromedia Contribute.

Basic Link Types

There are 3 basic types of links on the web:

Absolute links - links that specify the full address to the page including the domain name.
Relative links - links to other pages on the same web site.
Email links - links will open up a new email window with the address already filled in.

Making links in Contribute

Making a link in Contribute is easy. It is a matter of selecting the text or image that you want to make the link and then telling Contribute where you want to go with that link.

To make a link:

Select the text or image that you want to make the link.

Text and images are the most popular items to make into links. Other objects can be links, but you want to make it obvious that your object is a link. This is why text is blue and underlined and the cursor changes into a hand.
Click on the Link button and select Drafts and Recent Pages.

You will then be presented with this interface:

(This is a Flash movie that demonstrates the different screens. Click on the different buttons to see their descriptions.)

Linking to Drafts and Recent Pages

Drafts are Contribute pages that you are working on but have yet to publish. They will show up in the Places Window in the top left corner of Contribute. Recent pages are just that: pages that you have visited recently, like a history list.

Click on Link > Drafts and Recent Pages.
You will see a list of drafts and recent pages in the Insert Link Dialog. Select the page in which you want to link.

The Preview Window will show the page that you have selected.
Click OK to make the link.

If you have linked to a page that has not been published yet, Contribute will prompt you to upload the other page after you publish the current page. This action will prevent a broken link.

Create a Link to a New Web Page

This option is used when you want to link to a new page now and enter the contents of that new page later. This is useful when trying to create the basic structure of your site.

Click Link > Create New Page.

You will be presented with a dialog box that lists your new page options. You can choose between:
- Copy of Current page. This will simply copy your current page as the new page.
- Blank Page. Start a new page from scratch.
- Templates. You will be able to create an instance from one of the templates, if any, available to you.
Select the type of new page you want to create.
Give the page a title. This is the title that will appear at the top of the browser window when the page is viewed on the web.
Click OK. The new page will be created and the link will be made in the original file.

Linking to a Web Page

This option will allow you to make a link to a page anywhere on the web.

Select your link text and click Link > Browse to web page.
In the dialog box type the URL of the page in the field given. The preview pane will show the page you have selected. Click the Refresh button to update the window if needed.

Some URLs are long and unintuitive making it easy to mistype a complicated URL. To prevent typos, it is best to browse to the page and let Contribute write the link.
Click the Browse button. A small browser window will open in which you can browse to the specific page that should be linked.

You can also enter the base web site address and browse to the specific page. For instance, to link to a specific page on the Macromedia web site, put http://www.macromedia.com in the link field and then click Browse. The mini browser will open directly to the Macromedia home page. You can then browse to the specific page to which you are linking and click OK. The full URL will then be added.
Click OK to complete the link.

View a demonstration of these steps.

Linking to an email address

Sometimes you want people to click on a link to send an email.

Click Link > Email Address.
In the dialog box type in the person's email address.
Click OK to finish.

Linking to a file on your computer

When linking to a file on your computer, Contribute assumes that you want to put the file on the web site. Therefore, it will make a copy of the file, upload it to the server and make a link to it.

Click on Link > File on My Computer.
Click on the Browse button and browse to the file on your computer.
Click the Select button to choose the file. The path will show in the file field.
Click OK to finish the link. When you publish the page the linked file will be uploaded along with your Contribute page.