Section 17.2. Linking Externally

17.2. Linking Externally

An external link is one that goes from your site to some other site. To add an external link to your page, select the text that you want to make clickable, and go to the Property Inspector. In the Link field, type the complete web address of the destination:

• To link to the home page of the site, just type the site's general URL, such as http://www.macromedia.com/.

• To link to a specific page of the site, type the URL of the page in question, such as http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/index.html/.

  TECHTALK

  An external link is one that goes from your site to some other site.

  
  

• To link to a specific named anchor on a page of the site, type the URL of the page in question, the hash sign (#), and the name of the anchor, such as http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/productinfo/faq/index.html#item-2-1/.

By default, the browser loads the external page in the current browser window, effectively replacing your site. If you would prefer to load the external page in a new browser window, choose _blank from the Target menu on the Property Inspector, as Figure 17-10 shows. This practice is called targeting the link.

Figure 17-10. Choosing _blank from the Target menu on the Property Inspector

Generally, it's acceptable to load external sites in a new browser window, but avoid doing so for internal links, unless you're linking to an image or multimedia file that would otherwise interrupt the flow of your navigation. Even so, a pop-up window is probably the better choice, because a pop up feels more secondary and more a part of your site than a separate browser window in full regalia.

TECHTALK

Targeting a link means identifying where the browser should load the destination page.

BEST BET

Avoid opening internal links in new browser windows, unless the destination is an image or multimedia file that would otherwise interrupt the flow of your navigation.