Perhaps the most important feature of Web documents is the ability to link documents together. Links can be made within a document, with another document in the same directory, with documents in other directories and with documents right across the globe. All that is required to link to another document is to know its location. In HTML these locations or addresses are called URL's or Universal Resource Locators.You can use your Document Source function in the View menu to look at the source of this HTML document
Our first HTML document was saved in a directory using the file name firstdoc.htm. If we mark up a new document and put it in the same directory then the address (URL) to locate it is very simple:
<a href="firstdoc.htm"> (A stands for anchor or link HREF means hypertext reference and everything after = is the URL of the file you are linking to ).
The completed link tag might look like this:
<a href="firstdoc.htm">Click here to go to the first document</a>
or:
<a href="firstdoc.htm">Go to the first document</a>
or:
<a href="firstdoc.htm">Click here</a>
Now open your word processor and make the new document:
Dont forget the forward slashes (/). Try it out for yourself. Save it as a text file called secdoc.htm and, after you've saved and closed the document in the same directory as the first one, open it with Netscape using Open File under File in the Menubar.
Take a look at the wording that you typed between the anchor tags. Run the mouse pointer over these three lines and see what happens at the bottom of the Netscape window. Now click on one of the three lines.
If the linked document is not in the same directory then a path has to be specified pointing to another directory. Netscape gives you feedback if it cant find the file in the link. This feedback helps you work out what the correct address should be.
In this example the browser was searching for a file firstdoc.htm in a directory html on a hard drive chepdHD
Note that UNIX naming conventions are used for URL's, so the URL "colour/green.htm" indicates a file "green.htm" in a directory "colour" situated in the current directory. If you wish to move to the parent directory two dots and a forward slash are used as in "../index.htm", indicating a file "index.htm" in the parent directory of the current directory!
URL's or addresses identify a particular directory or file, on a particular server, at a particular company or institution, in a particular country etc just like a street address identifies a house. Some URL's can be very long.Return to top of page
Examples of URL's
Australian Folk Songs
url is http://www.chepd.mq.edu.au/boomerang/songNet/intro.html
Tandanya Aboriginal Art
url is http://www.macmedia.com.au/Tandanya.html
Wood & Wire Magazine
url is http://www.ether.com.au/woodwire/