What is a hyperlink?

A hyperlink is a connection from one page to another destination such as another page or a different location on the same page. The destination is frequently another Web page, but it can also be a picture, an e-mail address, a file (such as a multimedia file or Microsoft Office document), or a program. A hyperlink can be text or a picture.

When a site visitor clicks the hyperlink, the destination is displayed in a Web browser, opened, or run, depending on the type of destination. For example, a hyperlink to an AVI file opens the file in a media player, and a hyperlink to a page displays the page in the Web browser.

In the following example, the word "services" is a hyperlink; when the site visitor clicks it, the Services page is displayed.

See Creating Hyperlinks

How hyperlinks are displayed

Hyperlinks can be indicated in various ways. Web browsers usually underline text hyperlinks and display them in a different color. For example, this is how a hyperlink might look. You can also set effects so that hyperlinks change appearance when a site visitor positions the mouse pointer over them, such as changing the hyperlink's font.

Hyperlinks on a picture are not always visible, but a site visitor can tell that a picture has a hyperlink by positioning the mouse pointer over it — the mouse pointer changes appearance, usually to a pointing hand. Position your mouse pointer over the following button:

To emphasize a hyperlink even more, you can also add dynamic HTML effects to either text or picture hyperlinks. For more information, see Animating your web.

A hyperlink should also give a visual cue about where it leads; for example, the hyperlinks below could be used to lead to a web's home page:

Home Page

Edit a hyperlink

You can edit a hyperlink. For example, you can change the text from Click to see a picture to See my favorite picture. Or, you can change the hyperlink's destination (the page or file that is displayed when the hyperlink is selected).

• In Page view, do one of the following:
  • To change the hyperlink text, select the text and then edit it.
  • To change a hyperlink's destination, select the hyperlink, click Hyperlink , and then specify a different URL for the destination.

Set hyperlink colors

You can choose the colors that a Web browser will use for displaying hyperlinks. You can select three colors to use for a hyperlink, depending on its status:

• Hyperlink — a hyperlink that has not been selected.
• Active hyperlink — a hyperlink that is currently selected.
• Visited hyperlink — a hyperlink that has already been followed.

Web browsers determine whether a hyperlink has been visited already according to a specified time period. For example, in Microsoft Internet Explorer, this time period is the Web browser history; you specify how long to keep a history of the pages you have visited, such as 20 days. If you have visited the page within 20 days, the hyperlink status will be visited hyperlink. If you have not visited the page in 20 days, or if you clear the history, the hyperlink status will be hyperlink.

Note   If the page uses a theme, set the hyperlink colors by changing the colors used in a theme.

1. In Page view, right-click the page, click Page Properties on the shortcut menu, and then click the Background tab.
2. In the Hyperlink, Visited hyperlink, and Active hyperlink boxes, select the colors you want to use.

Add font effects to a hyperlink

You can add effects to hyperlinks so that when a site visitor positions the mouse pointer over the hyperlink, it changes font. For example, you can set the hyperlink to change to a larger, bold, red font. Move your mouse pointer over this link to see how its appearance changes. These effects are set for the entire page, rather than for individual hyperlinks.

1. In Page view, right-click the page, click Page Properties on the shortcut menu, and then click the Background tab.
2. Under Formatting, select the Enable hyperlink rollover effects check box.
3. Click Rollover Style.
4. Set the font properties for hyperlinks on the current page.

Notes

• You cannot add effects to a hyperlink if the page uses a theme.
• Some Web browsers do not support this feature.

Delete a hyperlink

You can delete a hyperlink from a page.

1. In Page view, select the hyperlink.
2. Do one of the following:
   • To delete the hyperlink completely, including the hyperlink text, press DELETE.
   • To preserve the hyperlink text but delete the hyperlink associated with it, select the hyperlink, and then click Hyperlink. Select the contents of the URL box, and then press DELETE.