Creating a Hypertext Link to an External File or Address

Sometimes you will want to create a link to an external file or web address, rather than to another topic inside your document. For example, you might want to link to a PowerPoint slide show from your document's outputs, or you might add a link to an external web page.

• When you want to incorporate an external file's contents directly into your document, use a File object. Author-it includes the external file's contents when it publishes your document.
• To link to an external file, but keep the file separate from your document, use a Hyperlink. That's what we'll describe here.

  Note: When your readers click on the link from your document, they must have the correct program installed on their computer to open that type of external file, or they will be unable to view it. For example, if you have included a PowerPoint slide show, then your readers must have MS PowerPoint installed on their computer.

  
  When you're viewing draft copies of your published output, simply copy the external files into a directory that is in the correct location relative to your Publishing directory.

To Create a Link to an External File or Web Address:

1. In the Editor, select the text you want to link from, then choose Edit > Insert > Insert Hyperlink. The Select a Hyperlink window opens.
2. Choose New. A new Hyperlink window is opened.
3. On the General tab, type a Description for your link. This is used within Author-it but not in any of your document's outputs. The name of the external file or address is often a good place to start when you're thinking of a description.
4. Select a Template From the Based On list.
5. Switch to the Hypertext Links tab.
6. Choose the Add button in the Internet URL panel. A new entry is created in the URL field, with "http://www." added for you. Select the link, then:
   • If you are specifying an external web address, just type the rest of it in the URL field, then go directly to Step 7.

     

   • If you are specifying an external file rather than a web address, remove the text so the URL field is blank. Then type the path to the external file, relative to where your document will be when a reader views it, after publishing (and not necessarily relative to the document while you are editing it).

     -or-

   • If you are going to put your document in the same directory as the external file, just type the filename. For example, you might want to ship your document on a CD with some associated external files in the same directory.

     -or-

   • If your document may be published to more than one location, specify an absolute address rather than a relative one.
7. In the Description field, add a description for the URL - this is displayed when a cursor hovers over the link in the HTML-based outputs, and can be different from the Hypertext Link object's Description.
8. Choose OK to close the window and insert your new Hyperlink into the topic. You will notice that the Hotspot text is marked with a blue underline.
9. Save the changes to your topic.