Link Notations. Adopted 2012-May-21

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This page is part of the California Department of Education (CDE) Web Design Standards, which only apply to specific CDE Web sites. Visit the CDE Web Standards to determine if these standards apply to a specific Web product (Web site, Web page, Web document, or Web application) that has been developed by or for the CDE.

Most Web pages (not including Web applications) on all CDE Web sites are created using Adobe's Contribute software templates. WebNETS, which is a custom software application that was created by CDE staff, is also necessary in order to create and process most Web pages on the CDE's public Internet site. Portions of these standards, where noted, apply only to CDE users of Contribute or WebNETS software; or to Web application developers.

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Background

In order to assist site visitors as they navigate the CDE Web site, we provide additional information (link notations) about some hyperlinks in parenthesis immediately after the hyperlink.

This section of the Design Standards explains when link notations are required or are optional and describes how they must appear when used. Visit the Hyperlinks Section of these Design Standards for highly related information, including when to use hyperlinked descriptive text and when to use hyperlinked URLs. This section on link notations avoids duplication by only covering link notations.

There are three possible elements in a CDE link notation.

The three elements and the order that they always must appear are:

• Location Information
• Document Information
• Date Information

There is also a "Coming Soon" notation that is covered in this section even though it is not an actual link notation.

The Hyperlinks Section of these standards explains when to use a hyperlinked URL and when to use hyperlinked descriptive text among other hyperlink-related issues. This section on link notations avoids duplication by only covering link notations.

Location Information

Internal vs. External

When a hyperlink points to a target on the same Web site, it is considered an internal link. For internal links, link notations are not used and the link is always set to open in the same browser tab or window.

Whenever a hyperlink points to a target location that is on a different Web site, the hyperlink is considered an external link. This type of link is always set to open in a new windows or tab, and the target must be indicated by the file extension or by using a link notation.

The concept of internal versus external must take into account both the Web site with the Web page or document containing the link (the source) and also the Web site with the destination (the target).

The following table indicates source and target Web sites for links that are considered internal:

Internal Links

External Links

The simple definition of a link that is considered external to a CDE Web site is any link that does not fit one of the patterns in the Internal Links table above. However, there are some “notable for CDE” link source and target combinations that are worth specifically noting as external:

Hyperlinked URLs vs. Hyperlinked Descriptive Text

When a URL is hyperlinked and it is an external link, the location is already indicated because it is part of the URL (the domain). In the following example, the location is indicated because the domain is “usc.edu”:

• http://rossier.usc.edu/

When descriptive text is hyperlinked and it is an external link, the location is not always evident, so the External Link icon () must be appended immediately behind the link. For example:

• OMB Circular A-133

Document Information

The document type is never indicated for links to Web pages, but is reserved for all other Web documents and files whether the link is internal or external.

A document size notation is required whenever the Web document file size is equal to or greater than 1 megabyte or when the type of file is a sort of multimedia (a sound or video file).

• For Web documents equal to or larger than 1 megabyte, the size and abbreviation “MB” are included in the link notation and the document size is always rounded to the nearest whole MB.
• For multimedia files, instead of the file size, the length of the sound or video file is always included (for all lengths and file sizes) and is expressed as hh:mm:ss (01:15:10). Note that the placeholder for hours is not used if the running time is less than an hour (15:10). On the other hand, “zero minutes” must be used if the running time is less than a minute (00:15).

Just like for location information, document information in hyperlinked URLs is already indicated because it is part of the URL (the file name). In the following examples, the location is indicated because the file name ends in “.pdf” and the file that is equal to or larger than 1MB is so noted:

• http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/documents/rtqalg2.pdf
• http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/vpastandards.pdf (2MB)
• http://www3.cde.ca.gov/video/learningsupport/bonniebenard.asx (01:10:00)
• http://enl.usc.edu/papers/cache/cldp_nsdi05.pdf
• http://merlot.usc.edu/csac-s06/papers/Rijndael-ammended.pdf (1MB)
• http://teamcore.usc.edu/schurr/DEFACTO-UPN13.wmv (1:57)

When descriptive link text is hyperlinked, the document type must be included in the link notation. For example:

• Algebra II Released Test Questions (PDF)
• Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools (PDF; 2MB)
• Part 1: Resilience, School Connectedness and Academic Achievement (WMV; 01:10:00)
• Geographic Routing Made Practical (PDF)
• The Rijndael Block Cipher (PDF; 1MB)
• Disaster Response Research Project on UPN13 (WMV; 1:15)

While all of the examples above illustrate links to either Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) documents or Windows Media Video (WMV) files, the same standard applies to all Web documents or other non-Web page files. The following table shows the abbreviations that are to be used for other documents/file types:

Document Type/Abbreviation

Date Information

Date information is optional as part of any link notation. When used, it is always the last item within a link notation. Date information consists of a calendar date preceded by a modifying term.

The calendar date is always formatted dd-Mmm-yyyy (01-Jan-2007). If a single day is not known, the Mmm-yyy format (Jan-2007) may be used.

A modifying term must precede the calendar date. Modifying terms always have their first letter capitalized with their remaining letters in lowercase. The following modifying terms are allowed:

• Certified
• Corrected
• Dated
• Modified
• New
• Notice Published
• Posted
• Published
• Recertified
• Revised
• Updated
• Suspended

One and only one of the above modifying terms must be used if date information is to be included as part of a link notation. The modifying term and only the modifying term may be changed to the color red, to bold, or to both the color red and bold. For example:

• Elementary Education (Updated 05-May-2012)
• Elementary Education (New 05-May-2012)

The modifying term "New" may only be used for 60 days. If the 60-day limitation presents problems, consider adding content that explains the recentness of the link in the link description instead of using "New" as a modifying term in the link notation. Contribute users must set the WebNETS review date for any Web page or Web document that includes "New" to be no more than 60 days from the action date. The following is an example of an alternative for new:

May 2012 Elementary Education (Posted 05-May-2012)

Coming Soon

While not actually a link notation, "Coming Soon" is a very similar notation that is used with hyperlinked descriptive text to indicate that a link will be added in the near future. It would never be added to a hyperlinked URL, because the presence of the URL indicates that the link has arrived and is not coming (soon or not).

The "Coming Soon" notation must be included in parenthesis immediately following descriptive link text and it can only be used for a maximum of 60 days.

If a link is not expected to be added within 60 days, descriptive text formatted to be an upcoming hyperlink is not appropriate. A solution for these cases is to write a sentence or two that explains the type of content that will soon be added to the site without formatting this information to be like a hyperlink. Text formatting changes, such as red text or bold may not be added to this notation. Contribute users must set the page review date for any Web page or Web document that includes "Coming Soon" to be no more than 60 days from the action date.

• OMB Circular A-133 (Coming Soon)

Putting it All Together

According to the standards outlined above, link notations can include location, document, and date information. Location and document information may each be required in some cases, while date information is always optional and may be included whether or not other link notations is present.

Whenever the multiple elements of link notations are used, they are separated by a semicolon (;) and they are always noted in the following order: location information, document information, and date information.

Examples of Hyperlinks on CDE Web Pages