HTML Coding

Basics of Web Publishing: Linking Alternatives

NOTE: These pages will remain available for your reference, but will not actively be maintained due to UW-Eau Claire's adoption of FrontPage for web publishing.

When you are preparing links for your Web sites (HTML files), 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.

Below are some example sites that would involve using an alternate link:

Library of Congress' telnet site
Chronicle of Higher Education's Gopher site
Bionet Agroforestry Newsgroup site
University of Wisconsin System's Travel Request (PDF document)
Born NT Report (Word document)

Special Considerations

When adding links to files other than HTML files, it is important to keep in mind the requirements for opening the links. The following table provides a summary of some types of alternative links and special requirements that may exist.

Type of Link	Requirements
Gopher	None
UseNet News	None
FTP	None
Telnet	Telnet program and setup (e.g., QVT Terminal or NCSA Telnet)
Email	Special setup in Netscape
Word	Microsoft Word and setup
Adobe Acrobat	Adobe Acrobat Reader and setup

Referencing the Link

To help reduce frustration for the user, we recommend that you alert the user of the type of link that you have provided if it does not open another Web site. The examples below provide two ways that you can alert the user of an alternative link to a telnet site:

Use the word telnet before the link
Telnet to the Library of Congress
Use an icon from Qbullets
Library of Congress (the icon for a telnet session).

Gopher

Gopher Link Examples

Wisconsin Dept. of Industry, Labor & Human Relations (DILHR)
Education Gopher

Code for Gopher Links

Sample for the Education Gopher:
<A HREF="gopher://gopher.ed.gov">Education Gopher</A>

UseNet News

UseNet News Link Example

Bionet Agroforestry Newsgroup

Code for UseNet News Links

Sample for the UseNet Newsgroup Bionet Agroforestry:
<A HREF="news:bionet.agroforestry">Bionet Agroforestry Newsgroup</A>

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

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.

FTP Link Example

UWEC FTP Anonymous Login

Code for FTP Links

Sample for the UWEC FTP Anonymous Login Site:
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.uwec.edu">UWEC FTP Anonymous Login</A>

Telnet

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. For example, the UWEC library catalog requires users to press [Ctrl]+[D] twice to exit. The information is only displayed on one of the login screens.

Telnet Link Examples

Library of Congress
UWEC Library Catalog
At the library catalog login prompt, enter library. To exit the library catalog, press [Ctrl]+[D] two times.

Code for Telnet Links

Sample for the Library of Congress:
<A HREF="telnet://locis.loc.gov">Library of Congress</A>

Email Links for Mailto

Web users can contact you more efficiently via email with a mailto link, so you need to make a commitment to respond to the email messages frequently. To access mailto links, users must have email software installed on their computer and have their browser configured to open the software.

Since some users are unable to access mailto links, it is important to include the email address in your Web site (perhaps as the link itself).

Mailto Link Examples

Kathy Finder: finderks@uwec.edu

Code for Mailto Links

Kathy Finder:
<A HREF="mailto:finderks@uwec.edu">finderks@uwec.edu</A>

Word Documents

For users to access a Word link, they must have the right version of Word installed on their computer and their browser must be configured to open the software when the Word link is accessed.

Word Document Link Example

The UW-System Pocket Travel Guide is available online as Word 6.0 document.

Code for Word Document Links

<A HREF="http://www.uwsa.edu/~fadmin/document/travguid.doc"> Travel Pocket Guide</A>

Adobe Acrobat Files

For users to access an Adobe Acrobat link, they must have the right version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on their computer and their browser must be configured to open the software when the Adobe Acrobat link is accessed.

Adobe Acrobat Link Example

This Pocket Travel Guide was published by the UW System using Adobe Acrobat.

Code for Adobe Acrobat File Links

<A HREF="http://www.uwsa.edu/~fadmin/document/travguid.pdf">Travel Guide</A>