A hyperlink is a direct connection from the current location of the cursor to another location. 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. |
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Because the link goes out to a file external to the current web site, visitors must use the BACK button on the web browser to return to the original site. If visitors spend much time browsing deeply into the second site or venture even farther out on the web to yet another site, they may not be able to return to your site. |
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You can solve this problem and ensure your visitors an easy return to your site by creating the hyperlink in such a way as to open an entirely new browser window to accommodate the linked site. In that way when your visitors leave the second site by closing the second browser window, they will find themselves back at your site. |
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Recall the way to create an absolute hyperlink in Dreamweaver
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Or ou can also insert the clickable text and the hyperlink into your web page at the same time. Place your cursor at the point where you want to insert the hyperlink. Click on the Hyperlink button |
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Type your clickable text in the Text text box. If you had previously entered and highlighted the text, the text will already appear in the Text text box. Type your complete hyperlink, including the http:// protocol, in the Link text box. Click on OK. |
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In either case you will see a blank text box marked Target just below the Link text box. Once you have put a URL in the Link text box, the Target menu becomes available. From this dropdown menu you can choose the way your link opens in a new browser window. |
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To open the hyperlinked page in a new browser window,
NOTE: Don't concern yourself with the other choices in the Target dropdown menu; they are used primarily with frames. |
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If you choose _blank from the Target menu, when a visitor to your site clicks on that hyperlink, the web page will open in a new browser Example: Visit my home page. If you click on the hyperlink above, a new browser window containing my home page will open. When you close that browser page, you will find yourself back at this page. |
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If you have more than one hyperlink on a page and you want to open more than one new window, give each new window a distinctive name. Example: Visit my home page. Then visit my course: English 123, Writing for the World Wide Web. When you click on the first link, the one to my home page, a new browser window will open. Resize that window, then come back to this page and click on the second link, the one to my course page. A third browser window will open with my course page. |
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To create these two browser windows, I simply changed the Target in the Target text box from _blank to home for the first hyperlink and from _blank to web for the second hyperlink. |
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| • Overview • Create Absolute Links • Create Relative Links • Create Mailto Links • Create Internal Links • Open a Link in a New Window • | |
on the Common toolbar. The Hyperlink dialog box appears.     |
Web Design Center |