Most familiar to web site visitors is the hyperlink that takes them to another place on the web.  For example, when you use a search engine it presents you with a list of hyperlinks to a variety of web sites that might have the information you are looking for.

Such a link is called an absolute hyperlink. The absolute hyperlink goes out to a file external to the current web site.

The format for an absolute hyperlink is:

<A HREF="[address]">[clickable text]</A>

The [address] stands for the location, the URL,  you want to link to; enclose it in quotation marks.

The [clickable text] is the text on your page that will appear in blue and underlined. A user clicking anywhere on the clickable text will be sent to the indicated address.

By convention URLs are typed in lower case.

A complete URL consists of several parts separated by forward slash marks:

• protocol (e.g., http): the type of file being linked to
• domain name
• directory path
• individual filename

Thus in the following URL

http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/wcb/HomeSite1/start1.htm

• the protocol is http
• the domain name is www.nvcc.edu
• the directory path  is home/ataormina/wcb/HomeSite1; each of these terms refers to a folder inside another folder on the directory tree
• the filename is start1.htm

When you put an absolute hyperlink on your page you must use as your address the entire URL, including the protocol.

Click on the Anchor button on the Quick Tab.

The Anchor dialog box will appear.

Anchor button

• Type the complete URL, including the http:// protocol, in the URL text box.
• In the Description text box type in the clickable text, that is the text you want to appear as a hyperlink. on your page.
• Click on OK.  Your hyperlink, complete with clickable text, will appear at your cursor point in your HomeSite document,