Linking to Data Files

A data file is an XML file that Content Server creates as a container for your HTML content. Each Web page in the CarolinaContent system is comprised of at least one data file. Editable regions on your Web page are an indicator that a unique data file exists in that location. Creating a link to a data file is similar to creating a link to a new Web page. When you create the link to a data file, you are essentially pulling the content within that XML file into a region on a Web page.

To link to a data file, first navigate to your contribution environment and log in. For more information regarding the contribution environment and logging in, please see CarolinaContent Overview and CarolinaContent Login, respectively.

Click the Edit Region Content icon to open the web-based editor. Highlight the text that you would like to add a link to and select the Insert Hyperlink icon. Once the Link Wizard dialog opens, select Link to a file and click Next >.

Select Existing file from server and click Next>.

Once the Content Server Search Results window opens, click the Select button next to the content item that you would like to link to. If you cannot see the content that you would like to link to on the first screen of results, click the green Next button until you find the file, or perform a search using the Quick Search (top-right).

Select the Web site and section where you would like the data file to be displayed when a user clicks the link by selecting the site from the drop down menu, and choosing the section by clicking on it. In the example below, The Web site is Teaching and Learning, and the section is Publications. Click Next > to proceed.

Select Absolute Path in the Path Based URL options list. Click Next > to proceed.

Note: Selecting the Relative Path checkbox will create a link that is respective to the location where the link exists – in some cases this will cause the link to break if the content item is used in other sections of your site (e.g. Resources list).
Note: The Path Based URL step has been removed from the Link Wizard on some Web sites.

In the Confirm link window, click Finish to apply the link:

Click the Save (Update) icon to commit the changes to the content.

Note: If you want the link to open a new window, click the Options… button to open the Link target options dialog. Click the checkbox to select Open link target in new window, select _blank from the drop-down menu, then click OK.
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