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RE: Links to anchor points in separate documents

for

From: julian.rickards@ndm.gov.on.ca
Date: May 19, 2004 6:41AM

I use this technique on a client's web site (a college of a small
university) where I link from the current course schedule to the course
descriptions which exist on a long page. Of course, if you are linking to a
page "controlled" by someone else (as I have done in linking to related
courses in another college of the same university), they may change the page
and break the link.


---------------------------------------------------------
Julian Rickards
Digital Publications Distribution Coordinator
Publications Services Section
Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
Phone: (705) 670-5608
Fax: (705) 670-5690



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul Bohman [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2004 4:34 PM
> To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> Subject: Re: Links to anchor points in separate documents
>
>
> Ben Lobo asked:
>
> Does anyone know if there are any 'official' reasons not to link to
> named anchors points in separate documents?
>
> My response:
>
> As with many accessibility questions, this is largely a
> usability issue
> for which the real answer is "it depends."
>
> In the case of some long technical documents, it would be
> cruel to NOT
> link to the anchors in the document if your intention is to
> reference a
> specific part of the document. Not providing a link would
> force the user
> to search for the information in the page.
>
> In the case of short Web pages, linking to an anchor could very well
> result in more disorientation than is justifiable.
>
> It makes sense to take the circumstances into account when deciding
> whether or not to link to an anchor on another page.
>
> --
> Paul Bohman
> Project Coordinator
> WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind)
> www.webaim.org
> Utah State University
> www.usu.edu
>
> Web Accessibility Coordination & Leadership Online Training
> Starts June 1, 2004
> Sign up now at http://www.webaim.org/events/symposium/
>