Bookmarks and other links Types of links Locating a link's target Creating links   Putting links on your Desktop   Putting links in other containers FirstClass bookmarks   The Bookmarks folder   Using bookmarks URL links   Creating URL links to servers   Creating URL links to web pages   How URL links behave Markers   Embedding markers   Working with markers Links embedded in content   Listing links   Testing links   Changing link properties If links don't work for other users   About relative links   About absolute links   Changing link types Types of links A link is an object that you click to open another FirstClass object or web page. You can create the following types of links: links in containers Shortcuts that are created on your Desktop or in other containers, such as your Bookmarks folder. The advantage of the Bookmarks folder is that it keeps all your links in one place. links on toolbars You can put links on the toolbar, just as you do any other object. links in content There are two types of links that you can add to content: URL links Shortcuts to objects on your server, to objects on other FirstClass servers, or to web pages. You type the URL for the object to which the link connects (the target object) directly in the content. embedded links Shortcuts to objects on your own or other FirstClass servers, or to another location in the current object. You create these links using the Insert dropdown on the edit bar. You can make the link text anything you want, or even use embedded pictures as links, unlike URL links. You can also embed markers in content and link to those markers. You can rename or delete a link, and this will have no effect on the original object. Top Locating a link's target To find out where a link's target is located, open the link's properties. The path to the target is displayed at "URL". Top Creating links Putting links on your Desktop To put a link on your Desktop: 1 Select the container to which you want to link (the target). 2 Click Add to Desktop. If desired, you can then move this link to another container. Putting links in other containers To put a link in another container, such as your Bookmarks folder: 1 Select the target container. 2 Click Move/Copy/Link Selected Item(s). 3 Select the container where you want the link to be placed. The selected container is displayed in bold text. To list all containers on your Desktop, select it. To list the subcontainers in a particular container, select that container. 4 Click Link. Shortcut Press Alt (Windows, Linux) or Option (Mac) and drag the target to the desired container. If Option doesn't work for you, try Command. Top FirstClass bookmarks The Bookmarks folder You can view your Bookmarks folder as a single or double pane. In double-pane view, any subcontainers you have created to organize your bookmarks are listed in the upper pane. Using bookmarks To open a bookmarked object: 1 Open Bookmarks on your Desktop. 2 Double-click the bookmark. Top URL links Creating URL links to servers To include a URL link to a FirstClass object, such as a conference, in a message or document, type the link in the following format: fcp://server name/object name For example, to link to a Budgets conference on the HuskyPlanes server, you would type fcp://fc.huskyplanes.com/budgets Creating URL links to web pages To create a URL link to a web page, type the URL in the appropriate format. For example, to link to FirstClass' web page, you would type www.firstclass.com or http://www.firstclass.com How URL links behave A URL link is formatted according to your preferences. In the case of a message, each recipient will see it formatted according to their own preferences. The following is an example of a formatted URL link: www.firstclass.com To activate a link in uneditable content, such as a sent message, click it. If you are linking to another FirstClass server, the FirstClass Login form for that server opens. Top Markers A marker can be embedded at any location in the content of a FirstClass object, and acts as a target for embedded links. Without a marker, a link to another object opens that object at the top. When the link points to a marker, the target object opens at the line containing the marker. You can also use markers to jump from one place to another within the same object. Embedding markers To embed a marker in content: 1 Click where you want to embed the marker. This can be anywhere on a line. 2 Choose Insert > Marker. 3 Type an identifying name for this marker. Working with markers To list all markers in your content, choose Format > Format Marker. The list shows the names of your markers, in the order they occur in your content. From the marker list, you can select a marker, then delete or rename it. Top Links embedded in content An embedded link is a block of text or an embedded picture that readers can click to jump to the link target. Link text is formatted according to readers' preferences. To embed a link into your content: 1 Select the content (text or embedded picture) that you want to use as a link. 2 Choose Insert > Link. 3 Update the Format Link form: Target URL Identifies the object to open when the link is clicked (the target object). Type the target's URL. To create a mailto link, type mailto: plus the name of a conference or user as it appears in the Directory, or an email address. Link to Marker Links to the marker that you choose. Link options Link title The name you want to give the link. This name will appear in the link's tooltip and in the list of links. If a link doesn't have a title, there is no tooltip for it, and the link's URL appears in the list of links. Window Use Same Window Opens the target in the same page as the current object. Use New Window Opens the target in a separate window. Use Named Window Opens the target in a separate window which you identify at "Target window name". Choose this if you don't want users to open a lot of windows. By opening links in one or a few named windows, you limit the number of windows opened by your links to just those windows. All links with the same window name will open their targets in the same window. Target window name The name you want to give a named window. Listing links To list all links in your content, choose Format > Format Link. The list shows the names/URLs of your links in the the order they occur in your content. From the link list, you can select a link, then test it or change its properties. Testing links To test that a link is working properly: 1 Select it from the link list. 2 Click Open. Changing link properties You can change the following properties for a link: • the target to which the link connects • the link title • the window in which the link opens. To change properties for a link: 1 Select it from the link list. 2 Click Edit. 3 Update the Format Link form. Top If links don't work for other users If other users can't follow your links: • your administrator may not have given them access to the container • they may not have permission to open objects in the container • FirstClass may not be able to find the target object (for example, when a message containing a link is mailed to someone who isn't on your server). If FirstClass can't find the target, and the target hasn't been deleted or moved since the link was made, the link may be relative instead of absolute. About relative links A relative link can be used between objects that will always be located in the same places in relation to each other. An example is a self-contained set of documents, like the help you are reading. The whole set can be moved (as it is in the case of this help, which moves to your own server), and links among the documents will still work. A relative link consists of only a relative path. It doesn't include any server identification. If the target object is in a different subcontainer from the object containing the link, the path starts with the container that is common to both (../ indicates that the path is starting at the container above the current container, ../../ indicates that the path is starting two containers above the current container, and so on). By default, FirstClass creates relative links in documents, as long as there is a common container for the documents somewhere in their paths. About absolute links An absolute link is necessary if the object containing the link may be moved in relation to the target object. To ensure that the link still works, the full path, including server identification (a protocol specifier, such as fcp, and a server address) is provided. By default, FirstClass creates absolute links in messages, and in documents that don't share a common container in their paths. Changing link types You can manually change a link from relative to absolute, or vice versa. To do this, change the link path at "Target URL" on the Format Link form. For example, the relative path ../budget/report could be turned into the absolute path fcp://fc.huskyplanes.com/finance/budget/report Top