Using the Links List to Provide and Share Shortcuts

The links list is used for posting hyperlinks to web pages and other places of interest to users of the site. For example, if SharePoint is being used as an intranet for a company, it would probably be useful to have a link to the company's external corporate website from its SharePoint site. On a SharePoint Portal Server 2003 site, or top-level Windows SharePoint Services site, the Links list on the Home page may also contain links to subsites for easy navigation.

In addition to pointing to a website, a link can also be created to point to a file share. If a company has files on its network that are not being migrated to SharePoint, a link can be created to take users directly to the file share from SharePoint. This enables users to access the files without having to switch out of SharePoint and into another application.

Multiple links lists can be created to assist in the organization of hyperlinks. For example, one links list may contain only hyperlinks to other SharePoint sites within the organization, a second links list might be created for hyperlinks to technical sites relating to the company's business, and a third links list might contain items that point to training sites.

Adding Items to a Links List

The value of a links list is providing a mechanism for people to easily access information and to share information that may be useful to other users. To add an item to a links list, follow these steps:

1.	From within the links list, click on the New Item icon, located at the top of the list.
2.	Enter the URL that points to the page that contains the information. If the link points to a file share on a server, the link will be in the format \\servername\share name.
3.	To ensure that the link works as expected, click on Click Here to Test.
4.	If a description is entered for the link, it is displayed in place of the actual URL address.
5.	Enter notes related to this link such as restrictions for access to the link and/or any additional descriptive information. The notes are displayed in the generic SharePoint List Views.
6.	Click on Save and Close to save the link item and return to the list.