Hyperlinks

Using Relative Path Names

But what if you are linking to a page within the same website? Do you really need ALL that stuff? No!

Relative path names are a throw-back to the days when all computers used an operating system called UNIX. Whether you are on a Mac or a Windows computer, your machine still speaks a bit of that language, especially when it comes to the internet. So your computer (or anyone else's computer) knows that if you don't include a full URL to look for it on the same server as the page you are viewing.

Confused? Okay, try it by adding this to your test2.html page -  

<a href="test1.html">
My First Month
</a>

Open your page in your web browser and take a look! Now, click on that new link and see what happens.

Unless you are saving your test pages in different folders, you should have seen your first month's work pop up on the screen. That's because your computer knew what page you were viewing when you clicked the link and it looked for a file called "test1.html" in the same location.

We'll talk more about using relative path names when we discuss website organization, but it is fun being able to click over to your own page, isn't it?