Manual:Extension/VisualEditor/Insert links

How do I create links?

Linking pages is an important feature of browser-based documentation. The links can differ in their function. Links connect wiki pages with:

• other wiki pages
• external websites
• files (images, PDF files, Word documents,...)

Use the Insert link menu item in VisualEditor or use the shortcut Ctrl+K. In both cases, a dialog box opens.

Linking pages

Link to a wiki page

Internal links connect related pages or other content that provides more information. Page names can exist multiple times in different namespaces. Therefore, under Search pages, enter the namespace if the destination page is not in the same namespace as the current page.

If you have selected some text on the page, you will find some page suggestions already listed in the Search pages tab. Here, you can adjust the search term accordingly or create a link to a new page.

Note about the search feature:Pages in the namespace are only found if you provide the namespace-prefix. For subpages, the parent page name also needs to be added in addition, before the subpage can be found.

Then click on Done.

In the source text, links are created with the following structure:

• Link to a wiki page: [[landing page name|caption]]
• Link to a wiki page in another namespace: [[namespace:landing page name|caption]]
• Link to a category page: [[:Category:category name|caption]] To create a link to a category, the source code is preceded by a colon before the category name. In contrast, the link "Category: BlueSpice" would create a category called BlueSpice instead of linking to the category BlueSpice.
• Interwiki link: [[Imdb:tt2709692]]If your wiki links to other wikis, you can use the tab Search pages also to directly link to a page in a related wiki. For example, if your administrator maintains an interwiki link for the IMDb movie database, it can be typed in as in the example above. Ask your administrator which interwiki links are available in your wiki.

Link to a page section

You can link directly to a specific section of a page using an "anchor":

1. In view mode, click directly on the link icon to the left of the section heading (it appears when you hover over the heading). This copies the anchor to the clipboard.

   

   Anchor link

2. Paste the link from your clipboard into the dialog box for creating a link using Ctrl+V.

Link to an external website

To link to an external website, mark text on your page, e.g. the word "Wikipedia". Press Ctrl+K and switch to the tab External link. There you enter the web address. Then click Insert.

Linking to an external page

Note:To easily maintain external links on your wiki, use the page Special:LinkSearch. This page allows you to search for external links in your entire wiki. The page also contains a link to the associated Mediawiki help page.

Link to a file page in the wiki

To linkto a file page (for example, the description page for a picture or a PDF), switch to the Link to File tab. There, you can search for a file.

Insert link to a file

Linking directly to a PDFTo link a file directly (so that, for example, a PDF opens immediately after clicking on the link), insert the link by clicking on the menu item Insert and then Images and Media.

Open internal links in new browser tab

By default, external links open in a new browser tab. If you also want to open individual internal links in a new tab, you can insert the following JavaScript on the MediaWiki:Common.js page:

/**
 * @source https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Snippets/Open_specific_links_in_new_window
 * @version 2018-09-15
 */
$( function () {
	$( '#mw-content-text' ).on( 'click', '.newwin > a', function () {
		var otherWindow = window.open();
		otherWindow.opener = null;
		otherWindow.location = this;
		return false;
	} );
} );

Add the link you want to open in a new tab as wikitext to your page.

<span class="newwin">[[Meine Seite]]</span>

Permalinks (revision-specific)

Every time a user saves changes to a page (revisions), a version with a specific version number is created. Therefore, each version has its own web address (URL). This is also known as a permanent link or "permalink" and is accessible as follows:

1. Via the "Share" link in the side toolbar. The permalink of the currently loaded page version is placed on the clipboard. Click on the "Share" icon and select "Copy URL".

   

   Copy the permanent link

1. Via the "Version history". In the side toolbar, click "View history", then click a version's date stamp. The web address of the page now displays the permalink.

   

   Copy the permalink from the Version history

Both approaches create a permalink that depends on the name of the page:

https://en.wiki.bluespice.com/w/index.php?title=Manual:Extension/BlueSpiceInsertLink&oldid=5300

If the page is moved, and therefore has a different title, the permalink will still work based on the "oldid".

Tip:In both cases, external links are created, for example for copying into an e-mail or another website. To create an internal permalink, you must create a link via the special page "PermanentLink" (see next section).

Internal permalink

A shortened permalink can be inserted in the source code of the page in the following way:

[[Special:PermanentLink/5300]]

Use the visual editor to enter the link using the link button ():

internal linking of a permalink

Related info

• https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Links
• Manual:Extension/VisualEditor

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