Inserting Text Hyperlinks

You can insert text hyperlinks in content files.

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How to Insert a Text Hyperlink—Standard Method

Open the content file.
Highlight the text that you want to use as the link (or "hotspot").
Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:
- Ribbon Select Insert > Hyperlink.
- Keyboard Shortcut Press CTRL+K.
- Local Toolbar In the local toolbar of the XML Editor, click .
- Right-Click Right-click in the editor and select Insert > Hyperlink. This context menu option is available only when your cursor is located in certain places in the editor (e.g., not in a drop-down effect).
The Insert Hyperlink dialog opens.

From the Link to drop-down field, select a way to identify the topic, bookmark, or file to which you want to link. Based the option you choose, the section below gives you a list of selections or additional fields to complete.

File in Project

This option lets you search for a file within your project. After you select this option, use the area below to navigate to the file that you want to link to and select it. By using the buttons in the local toolbar, you can view all files in a list, view files in their folder structure, and use other options.

	Shows all of the files in the project in a list below. Click the button again to switch to a folder tree view. You can click the File, Type, or Path column headers to sort the list alphabetically by that column data.
	Shows or hides the folders that the files are stored in.
	Shows or hides the files. If you click this button when the Show Folders button is selected, the area splits into two. The folder is shown on the left side, and the files and subfolders within it are shown on the right.
	If the Show Files button is the only one selected, you can click this button to move up one folder level.
	Lets you filter the kinds of files shown below. Depending on the task you are performing, this field may already be populated with the most appropriate file type(s).

You can also click to display and select any bookmark or a location using a particular style (including classes and IDs). If necessary, a bookmark will be created at that location if one does not exist. If you want to clear a bookmark in the link, select it and click the button at the bottom of the dialog. See Inserting Bookmarks.

You can also select if you have selected a PDF file. See Creating Named Destinations.

Place in This Document

This option displays any bookmarks, headings, and other elements in the current file. Expand the appropriate section and select the element to which you want to link. If you select anything other than an existing bookmark, Flare will insert a new bookmark at that destination in the file.

External File

This option lets you search for a file (e.g., HTM, HTML, XML, PDF, Microsoft Office files) outside your project. This is especially useful if you want to link from one topic to another in separate project outputs, such as CHM files. After you select this option, enter the path to the file in the field next to the External File button.

You can also click to display and select any bookmarks within the destination file, or if you have selected a PDF file. See Inserting Bookmarks and Creating Named Destinations.

For more information see Inserting Links to External Files—HTML, PDF, Microsoft Office.

Note Because the link usually needs to be relative, based on the final locations of your output files, it is preferable to enter the text directly into the field, rather than clicking the External File button.

Website

This option lets you enter the path to an external file, such as the URL for a website. After you click this option, simply type the path in the field next to the Website field (e.g., http://www.acme.com).

If you want to insert a variable in a field, you can click Add a variable definition. . The variable will appear as syntax in the field, but in the output the variable definition will be shown.

You can create links to specific topics in HTML5, WebHelp, or WebHelp Plus output. This includes the ability to incorporate search strings and skin references (for some outputs). See Creating Links to HTML5 Topics and Creating Links to WebHelp and WebHelp Plus Topics.

This option lets you add email addresses and subject line so that the user can quickly send an email. To add multiple email addresses, separate them with semi-colons.

Example You might use this feature to help the end user send an email to your company's technical support department. When users click the link, it opens their email program and begins a new email message for them, inserting the email address and subject line for them. After you click this option, complete the E-mail address and Subject fields to the right (or select a recent email address from the list below).

HTML Help File

This option lets you search for a topic within an HTML Help (CHM) file that you have added to your project. After you select this option, click the External File button. In the Link to HTML Help dialog, you can do one of the following.

Select Project Files and then use the area below to navigate to the file that you want to link to and select it. By using the buttons in the local toolbar, you can view all files in a list, view files in their folder structure, and use other options.

	Shows or hides the folders that the files are stored in.
	Shows or hides the files. If you click this button when the Show Folders button is selected, the area splits into two. The folder is shown on the left side, and the files and subfolders within it are shown on the right.

Select Import Existing. In the dialog that opens, find and double-click the CHM file. Then from the drop-down—which displays "(root folder)" by default, you can select a specific content folder in your project to place the CHM file.

After the CHM file is selected, in the Topic field click . In the dialog that opens, find and double-click the topic that you want to link to.

When you are finished, click OK in the Link to HTML Help dialog.

(Optional) The Link text field displays the text that you highlighted in the topic, which will be used as the hyperlink. Leave the text as it is, unless you decide you would like to change it. If you want to change the link text, type the new text in the field. It will replace the previous text in the topic. If you want to insert a variable in a field, you can click . The variable will appear as syntax in the field, but in the output the variable definition will be shown.
(Optional) In the Screen Tip field, you can type a phrase that will appear when the end user hovers over the hyperlink in the output. Again, you can insert a variable by clicking .

When you enter a screen tip, it is added as a <title> tag in the markup.

For more information see Accessibility.
(Optional) In the Alternate Text field, type a phrase that describes what the element is about. This option should be used to increase accessibility for users who are unable to view an element. See Alt Text and Title Attributes. Again, you can insert a variable by clicking .
(Optional) Next to the Style Class field, click the Select button. This opens the Select Class dialog, which lets you apply one of the defined hyperlink styles (a.NameOfStyleClass) from your stylesheet to the link. After you select a style class in the dialog, click OK. The Style Class field displays the selected style. (If you do not specify a style class, Flare uses the parent "a" style.)
(Optional) In the Target Frame field, click the drop-down arrow to select the way the linked destination will open.
- Page Default The destination file opens in the same window as the output window.
- Parent Frame The destination file opens in the parent frame of the current topic while hiding that topic.
- New Window The destination file opens in a new browser window.
- Same Frame The destination file opens in the same window frame as the current topic.
- Top Frame The destination file opens in the same output window, removing all other framesets. You might use this option, for example, if the destination topic has its own frameset.
- Popup Window The destination file opens in a popup box on top of the current topic.
(Optional) In the Tab Index field you can enter a value to specify the order in which users can tab through hyperlinks in a topic. So when a user presses the TAB key the first time in a topic, the hyperlink with an index value of 1 will be selected first, the hyperlink with a value of 2 will be selected next, and so on. If you want to skip a hyperlink, enter -1 in that field.

Note This feature is supported only in web outputs—HTML5, Clean XHTML, WebHelp, WebHelp Plus.
Click OK. The hyperlink is added to the topic.
Click to save your work.

How to Insert a Text Hyperlink—Quick Link Method

Open the content file.
In the XML Editor right-click at the location where you want to insert the hyperlink.
From the context menu select Insert > Quick Link.
Select the appropriate submenu, depending on the option that helps you find the destination the fastest.
- Bookmarks Lets you select any bookmarks that you have already inserted into the current file.
- Same Folder Lets you select any files that are contained in the same folder in the Content Explorer.
- Open Documents Lets you select any other files that are also currently open in the workspace.
From the next submenu choose the bookmark or file. The hyperlink is added to the topic.
Click to save your work.

What’s Noteworthy?

Warning It is recommended that you avoid creating links to snippets.This is primarily due to the nature of snippets, which are designed to be inserted into multiple files. Let's say you have a heading style in a snippet and that snippet is then inserted into 12 different topics. In another topic, you might decide to create a cross-reference that points to the heading in that snippet. But which of those 12 topics is it supposed to point to in the output? There is no way for Flare to know this, so you could end up with some very undesirable results. For this reason, it's a good idea not to link to any content in a snippet.

Note By default, dragging a topic into the XML Editor inserts a cross-reference to that topic. However, you can change the default drag-and-drop behavior to insert a hyperlink to the topic rather than a cross-reference. See Setting the Default Paste Behavior.