In the CMS, there are two types of hyperlinks: internal links (which are done through the "Library" - see this page ), and external links. This training tip will cover external linking.

 

Hyperlinks

What is an "external hyperlink?"

For our purposes, in using the CMS, an external hyperlink is any link that takes the user to a web page outside of the College of Law website. For example, linking to another ASU web page, another university's web page, a commercial web page, or even your own personal web page would be an example of an external link.

Compared to making internal links, making hyperlinks is relatively simple. There are two ways to accomplish the external link:

Using the Hyperlink Button

  1. Once in the "Add Content" window, whether you are editing an existing page or creating a new one, select the text that will be the hyperlink.
  2. Click the "Hyperlink" button in the Tool Bar.

Hyperlink 1

 

  1. Go to the webpage to which you want to link. For this example, we'll link to the ASU Pre Law website homepage.

Hyperlink 2

 

  1. Highlight the URL in the Address bar and copy it (either by using the Copy command under "Edit" in the Menu Bar, or by pressing the Ctrl key and the C key at the same time).

hyperlink 3

 

  1. Go back to the "Add Content" window. The hyperlink window should still be open (if it is not, click the Hyperlink button in the Tool Bar).
  2. In the "Link" field, delete the existing text, "http://", then paste the URL you copied into that same field. Then click the "OK" button.

Hyperlink 4

 

  1. The link has been made, as indicated by the underlined text.

Hyperlink 5

 

Using the Right-Click Menu

  1. As described above, find the web page to which you wish to link and copy the URL.
  2. Go back to the "Add Content" window and select the text that is to be the link. Then, while it is highlighted, right-click anywhere within the highlighted text. A menu will pop-up; select "Hyperlink."

Hyperlink 6

 

  1. The same hyperlink window as described in step 6 when using the Hyperlink button.
  2. You can use this feature to check to see if a link you've made has the correct URL.

 

Choosing a Target

You have the ability to tell the browser where to put the page to which the hyperlinked is linked. This is called the "target." If you do not specify a target, the page will appear in the same window as the page with the hyperlink.

However, you can have the page open in a new window by specifying a different target. This is done in the same hyperlink window where you paste in the URL of the web page to which you are linking. The target "frames" are available in a drop-down menu on the hyperlink window:

Hyperlink 7

 

Here's what the different choices in the drop-down menu do:

Target Frame: Result
New Window (_blank) Opens the linked to page in a new window, leaving the original page in its window.
Same Window (_same)

Opens in the current window, replacing the existing page (this is the same as if you don't specify a target at all).
Parent Window (_parent) If the original page has frames, the new page appears in the same frame that contained the hyperlink (we don't use frames much here).
Browser Window (_top) If the original page has frames, the new page replaces all the frames.

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