Hypertext and Hyperlinks

Downloading and viewing on the Internet

Hyperlinks, or sometimes known simply as links, connect us to information and files on the world wide web. Most of the time, hyperlinks lead us to another web page. Sometimes, hyperlinks may lead you to images, sounds, documents, songs, or movies to download.

Downloading is not a crime

download: the process of transferring any file from the Internet to your computer.

When you enter a specific URL in the open dialogue box from the file menu or the location window of your web browser, there is a process where the web browser assembles the web page. Your computer is transferring the files which make up the web page: the gif image files, the jpg image files, the html files, etc. This is downloading. The amount of time for this process to complete depends on several factors: size of the files which make up the page, the speed of your computer, how many people are on the Internet at that time, and the speed of your connection to the Internet. Internet speed is going to depend on whether you have dialup, dsl, cable (for ex. Comcast), T-1, or T-3 connection.

Tip: You can also download programs and applications. Many software companies will allow individuals to download evaluation copies of a program to try it out before purchase. Downloading full programs can take many hours if using a slow connection. Other things you can download are songs, books/manuals, IRS tax forms, animated cartoons, photographs, games, etc.

In essence, a hyperlink will allow you to download another file. You've been downloading things all along, and you probably did not know it.

The no fail way to spot a hyperlink

Hyperlinks can appear in a number of different ways, and may even seem hidden. With a few simple tips, we'll be able to spot any hyperlink on a page and navigate through the Internet like a pro. The finger rule! This is the one rule that will always work when deciding if something is a hyperlink. If there is only one thing which is learned during the lesson on hyperlinks it is this: If your mouse pointer turns into a pointing finger when it is dragged over an object on a webpage, it is a link!

The many faces of a hyperlink

A. Simple Text Hyperlink:

This is the simplest, most common and easily spotted type of a link. It is a piece of plain text (being a word, letter, number or symbol), which causes your pointer to turn into a finger when resting over the text. Clicking on a text hyperlink will brings you to another file. You've already followed text links in the last lesson on file types.

Follow this text link to our jpg image of Christopher Walken.

Remember to return to this page using the back button/back arrow. Easy, right? The only thing is that sometimes text links are deceiving. The linked text on this page has some qualities which make it stand out from regular text: it is underlined, and it is dark blue. These visual cues can allow us to quickly identify where hyperlinks might be located when we scan a web page. Every web page has different types of text links. They can be any color (sometimes different colors on the same page), they may or may not be underlined, they can be bold, they can be italic, or they can even be blinking. You can have underlined or different colored text without it being a hyperlink at all. However, a hyperlink will ALWAYS turn your mouse pointer into a finger when you drag over it.

Which choice below is a link?

1. I am trying to fool you.

2. I am trying to fool you.

Trial and error will work, too. If you click on something and it takes you nowhere, it may not have been a link.

B. Image Hyperlink:

Just like it sounds, an image link is an actual image file which is linked to something. The image file has to be within a web page for the linking to occur. It can be any image, whether it's a picture of Christopher Walken, an image of a word, or something that looks like a button. Only one of the images below is a link. Follow the finger rule:

Image One	Image Two

Activities

Click the text hyperlink below, read the instructions, and complete the "Links" activity.

"links" activity

Proceed to the next lesson, Web Forms, Give! Give! Give! . . .

Site and course content by Kevin Berner, edited by Lori Wallace and Donna Wilbur