External Link
Digest
An External Link is an asset that points to a webpage outside the system. As it is an indexable asset, an external link is useful when there is a need to include external pages in a dynamic navigation menu.
The external link records the desired URL, and the index block, when rendering the external link, will write out the URL path in the rendered document.
Concept
When to Use an External Link
Often times there comes a need to incorporate links to external sites within a dynamic navigation menu. Use of system symlinks (external links) provides the perfect mechanism to incorporate such functionality.
External links are also used to tie in other web applications from within the same program interface. For example, to quickly see pages inline, an external link to site visitor statistics and other marketing reporting tools would be helpful.
Applying an External Link to Text in the WYSIWYG
Users may want to link to an external site from somewhere other than a dynamic navigation menu, such as in a press release or newsletter. Doing so is easy with Cascade and you don’t always have to create an External Link asset to accomplish this.
For example:
User creates a new Press Release, and wants to link to a partner company but doesn’t want a messy URL to appear in the text. Instead of creating an External Link asset, the user may simply highlight the words Visit Our Partner’s Page, click the in the WYSIWYG toolbar, and enter the desired external destination URL. Text will appear within the press release as Visit Our Partner’s Page.
Technical
Creating an External Link Asset
Some sites will require links that point to external pages to be added to a navigation menu. This can be accomplished by creating an external link asset. An external link asset is treated like any other asset; it is indexable and can have appropriate metadata values attached.
To create an external link:
- In the Home area, select New -> Default -> External Link.
- On the Content tab:
Enter the full URL of the external page you wish to index. - On the Metadata tab:
Enter the desired metadata values.
- On the System tab:
Name - Enter a name for the link.
Parent Folder - This is where your external link will be stored. It should be stored within the folder you plan to index and can later be reordered with the other assets in the folder. - Click Submit to save your new external link.
External links may be edited or deleted by selecting the asset and choosing the appropriate tab.