Add Links
Through the World Wide Web we can link related documents to other W&M pages (internally) and to websites around the world (externally). How great is that? Using links to knit web content together keeps us from duplicating content which makes our pages more accurate and easier to maintain. It also makes good sense to visitors, who expect you to know where they should go next for related information.
To add a link, highlight the text and then click on the link icon in the editor bar. The icon looks like a chain and sits on the bottom row, to the right of the numbered list button. A menu will pop up asking you to choose Internal or External.
Internal Links
Use an internal link for any content on the W&M Cascade server. Want to link to a page over in the Dean of Students Office? Use an internal link. That form in the /as/undergraduate/ folder? Internal link. Basically, use an internal link for any page with a URL that starts with www.wm.edu.
Internal links are great (and important) because Cascade keeps track when content is moved around. If you link to content and someone moves it, Cascade updates everything so your link doesn't break.
Here's how: Select Internal on the pop-up, then select "choose file." You'll get a window that covers the right of your screen. Select "Browse" on that window, then use the directory tree to find the file you want to link to. Not sure where that page is? Find it in your browser first, and copy down the URL. The URL is the folder structure in Cascade, and you just follow the map.
Links to the Course Catalog
Pretend that the Catalog is internal and "lives" in these folders:
- Undergraduate Catalog redirects are here: /as/undergraduate/undergrad_catalog/
- Graduate Catalog redirects are here: /as/graduate/_graduate-catalog-redirects/
These folders should contain redirects to the Catalog for everything you need: Your department/program page, course list, individual degree requirements pages, Academic Regulations, and Requirements for Degrees. In the /undergrad_catalog/ folder, you'll also find redirects to frequently used external pages like the Open Course List and the Dynamic Schedule.
In reality, the Course Catalog is not in Cascade. BUT - if you link directly to a page in the Catalog using an external link, you are linking to an page for a specific year. When the new Catalog comes online, your link will send folks to the old one. To save you some obsolete links, use the folders with redirects to the Catalog. These files are updated every year so your Catalog links will also stay up to date if you use them.
External Links
Use an external link for any content that's not on the W&M Cascade server. Note that some parts of W&M sit on a different server and need an external link. None of the other schools are in our version of Cascade. The Alumni Association is not in Cascade. Swem Library is not in Cascade. There are others. If you're not sure what sits where, check the URL. If it starts with anything other than www.wm.edu, use an external link.
Here's how: Select External on the pop-up, then paste in the full URL. For external links, we recommend always selecting Target, then New Window.
Other types of Links
If you want to add an email address for someone in your content, you need to protect their email address from spam bots by surrounding the address in double square brackets.
To add links to text fields, like directory information fields, surround the URL with double curly brackets.
Check before linking to Advancement's Giving site. Your link can be set so that the page opens to the desired fund.
How Embarrassing
Oooops. Your broken links are showing. You need to check your links at least once a year to make sure they're still working.
External links break far more frequently than internal ones. Cascade can't keep track of external changes, and web pages are changing all the time. Maybe use external links judiciously?
If you're specifying external links for content that's internal to W&M Cascade – well, you're not following best practice and you're making extra work for yourself. Those bad links are on you.
