Links in TDX knowledge base articles

NOTE: This information in general, excluding instructions for specific editors, applies to all university public documentation. 

Linking guidelines

• Link within the article to any other articles that will explain a topic or procedure that is presented in the article.
• All related articles should also have links to one another within content that explains the relation to the content of the other article. Users might not see the related articles in the right column, so it's important to link within the content.
• Bold links that are within a sentence. Links can be difficult to see in a line of text, so bolding helps it stands out. Use the Big style for important links that need to stand out on the page.
• Set the link to open in a new tab or window when it is an external link or when linking to another article and the user will need to continue to reference the initial article. 
• Don't link to documents stored on personal SharePoint or OneDrive sites. 

Best Practices

If an article becomes to long and cluttered, new articles containing the sections or steps can be created and linked from the main (hub) article. Make sure the secondary articles have introductory information and an obvious link back to the primary article. When an article is broken into smaller articles, make sure all non-hub articles have basic information so the articles make sense on their own. Link articles with extra information back to a “hub” article. 

If an article with part of the information you are presenting already exists, link to that article instead of recreating and duplicating that information. An article might need a link to another article that gives more information or explains an action required for a different service or product. Link to information instead of duplicating that information in your article. Articles commonly linked into other articles include:

• Handling and Securing Sensitive University Data 
  This article should be linked from articles related to university data. 
• VPN
  This article should be linked from any article about a service or software that requires VPN.
• UARK accounts for email and university systems
  This article may need to be linked from articles that reference UARK accounts. 

Accessible Links

A link should make sense when read on its own, out of the context. The purpose and destination of each link must be able to be identified from the link text alone.​ This way, assistive technology can provide a list of links on the page, and users can choose from the list.

"Click here" or "More information" as link text is NOT ADA compliant. This text does not describe the link's destination and makes no sense out of context.

The minimum requirement for Level A is that the purpose of each link can be determined from the link text itself or from the link text within the context of the surrounding text, but for Level AAA, the purpose of each link must be able to be identified from the link text alone.

To ensure web accessibility, see W3C's pages on:

• Providing link text that describes the purpose of a link
• Providing link text that describes the purpose of a link for anchor elements
• Link Purpose (Link Only) (Level AAA)
• Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A)
• Failure of Success Criterion 2.4.9 due to using a non-specific link such as "click here" or "more" without a mechanism to change the link text to specific text

Create or edit a link in a knowledge base article or service description

NOTE: Links that are set in Microsoft Word will carry over when copied and pasted using the Paste from Word button.

To create a link in an article or service description:

1. Copy the URL of the link target. To find the URL of the knowledge base article or web page that you are linking to, open the article in a browser, and copy the link from the browser address field.
2. Select the link text.
3. Click the Link button.
   
4. Paste the URL into the URL field with Ctrl/v or right-click, Paste , and click OK.

Open link in a new tab or window

To have the link open in a new window or tab, select the Target tab when creating a link, click the Target dropdown, and select New Window (_blank).

Edit an existing link

To edit an existing link, right-click in the linked text, and click Edit Link.

To remove the link from the text, right-click in the linked text, and click Unlink. 

Create an email (mailto) link

From the Link dialog box, under the Link Info tab, click the Link Type dropdown and select Email. Fields for the Email Address, Message Subject, and Message Body will be displayed. Only the email address field is required to be completed. 

Use named anchors to link within the article

Named anchors are markers that can be placed within an article to link to that specific section.

To place named anchors in the article:

1. Click to place the cursor in the text where the anchor will be located.
2. Click the Anchor button.
   
    
3. Type a name in the Anchor Name field and click OK.

To create a named anchor link:

1. Select the link text.
2. Click the Link button.
3. From the Link Type dropdown, select Link to anchor in the text.
4. From the By anchor name dropdown, select an anchor from the list of anchors that were previously placed in the article.

To link to a named anchor from a different article, open the article in a browser, click on the anchor link, and use that URL for the link.

Link to external sites

An external link is one that links to a web page or article that is not a part of the University of Arkansas system. 

External linking to documentation on the product’s company site or to a government site (for policy) or a non-profit organization’s site is encouraged instead of rewriting the information, but don't link to .com sites for information unless it is the official site of the product or service documented in the article. 

When we need documentation for certain procedures with specific university policy and process requirements, unique documentation is expected instead of linking to a company website. If the external information does not include all the steps required to install/set up/access service through university specifically, documentation should be created that is specific to the procedure that university faculty, staff, and/or students must follow. External documentation (ex. Microsoft’s) often has very broad instructions written for a variety of users that cover all settings that could exist for a system, and these types of instructions need to be written specifically for the university’s setup of the system to narrow the scope.

Set external links to open in a new window.

Don't link to other university's web pages or articles or copy the content for use in University of Arkansas documentation. Use them for ideas and inspiration, but do not plagiarize. 

Link to related policies

Include links to all relevant university and IT Services Policies and Guidelines.

Review the list of IT Policies and Guidelines to see if any are relevant to the article's topic. 

Policies that are often linked include:

Policy 900.0: Code of Computing Practices

Article Review

Immediately after publishing your article, click on all the links to check them. During article review, make sure to manually check all links. Even if a link is not broken, it might not still go to the web page that it did originally.