Using a Path-Based URL for the Link

A path-based URL is a simple way to read a web address. You usually have a domain name (mywebsite.com), followed by a slash (/), the name of a section (news), and possibly a file name (news1.htm).

To use a path-based URL, perform these tasks:

1. Open a web browser, and browse to the location on your Web site where you want your link to go.

2. In the web browser's address bar, copy the address that displays there (for example, "http://www.mywebsite.com/news/").

Address Bar in Web Browser

Description of Address Bar in Web Browser

3. Paste this address into the hyperlink in your native document (see Figure for an example in Microsoft Word 2003).

URL-Based Link Target in Microsoft Word

Description of URL-Based Link Target in Microsoft Word

4. Close the hyperlink feature and save your document.

You can also use relative paths instead of the full path in your hyperlinks (for example "../products/myfile"). Keep in mind, however, that if you reuse the native document on another part of the site, the link does not work there. (This is because the relative path changes depending on where a document is located.)

If you want to create a link to a file and you know the file's content ID and the section where it is stored, you can predict its web address without going to the site. Simply enter the Web site address (for example, "http://www.mywebsite.com"), followed by a slash (/), followed by the section (for example, "News"), followed by a slash (/), and then the content ID (for example, "NewsID"). The complete address would be:

http://www.mywebsite.com/news/NewsID