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cayi

asked on

problem with anchor links in geocities pages


my problem with anchor links in my geocities page is being dealt at members support,  but it has taken too long and yet I'm going nowhere since the responses are inconclusive or maybe I'm not getting my message clear.

Below is a long threaded series of yahoo support emails, for your reference, So while I'm awaiting for their reply, you could help me out here.

>
>I created my anchor links using the html editor and followed the instructions on the "yahoo's html help", but when viewing my page, the resulting link shown in the status bar, has an "?" string attached followed by a serial of numbers just before the # symbol. (what is that for?)
 
I have several copies of the page in question at other web hosts and I do not have this problem except at yahoo geocities.
 
 
Viki


>Yahoo! GeoCities <geo-support@yahoo-inc.com> wrote:
Hello,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! GeoCities.


Listed below is information about how to:

* Create a link in PageBuilder (including email links)
* Link downloadable files (i.e. movies, mp3's, Microsoft Office
documents)
* Change link colors
* Deleting links
* Make a link open in a new browser window / remove underlines from
links

as well as other troubleshooting tips

---CREATING A LINK IN PAGEBUILDER---

To create a link in PageBuilder, select the object or words in a text
box that you would like to link. Click the "Link" button in the
toolbar. The "Hot Link" menu will open up where you can add the URL of
the page you wish to link. The small menu to the left gives you a list
of link options:

Web URL -- you can link to a page on the Web by entering a URL, such as:

http://www.yahoo.com/

My Page -- click the "Choose" button to select an HTML file from your
directory (i.e., "pagetwo.html")

E-Mail -- enter an email address so when someone clicks the link, it
will bring up a mail form to the email address you specify (i.e.
"your_yahoo_id@yahoo.com")

My File -- click the "Choose" button to select an image or other file
from your directory (a file other than an HTML file)

Other -- this is where you can link to nearly any type of file that is
accessible on the Internet, including downloadable files

If you know the URL or name of the file you wish to link to, you can
just as easily enter it into the text box and click the "OK" button,
instead of using the "Choose" button.

PLEASE NOTE: Your Yahoo! GeoCities URL, including file names, are case
sensitive. You can access all your files by using the case sensitive
URL. When you are creating your links, please make sure you are using
the correct capitalization and spelling.

---LINKING DOWNLOADABLE FILES---

Sometimes you may want people to listen to specific songs that you have
uploaded to your File Manager (not background music). In addition, you
may have a movie file or MS Word document that you want others to see.
To do this, you will need to upload the file to your File Manager first
and then link it as a "downloadable file".

To make a file downloadable, the file must be linked properly, and the
user's browser must be set up correctly to receive a downloadable file.
You will first need to upload the file to your File Manager before you
can link to it.

We encourage you to review our list of currently supported file types.
If the file you are trying to upload has an extension that we do not
support, you will not be able to upload it. Our FTP servers will check
to see if the file being uploaded has the correct file extension. To
review the list of supported file types, please go to:

http://us.geocities.yahoo.com/v/filetypes.html

1. Launch PageBuilder
2. Go to the "File" menu, and select "Upload Images and Files."
3. Click the "Browse" button and select your music file from your
computer.
4. Click the "Upload" button to upload the file.

To link a downloadable file, you will need to select the "Other" option
when creating the link. Enter the file name exactly as it is listed in
your File Manager, and click the "OK" button.

---CHANGING LINK COLORS---

If you want to change the color of your links, you can do the following:

1. Sign into Yahoo! GeoCities and launch PageBuilder
2. Go to the "Format" menu and select "Page Properties"
3. Click the "Links" button to select the color you want your unvisited
links to be, select the color, and click "OK"
4. Click the "Visited Links" button to select the color you want your
visited links to be, select the color, and click "OK"
5. Click "OK" when done

Note: Under "Page Properties" you can specify the default color of a
link, but by doing so you will overwrite any modifications you make to
the color of text links on your page. This only happens with text that
you make into a link. Please also note that you will not be able to
select multiple link colors to be used on one page, but you can select
different link colors for each of your pages.

---DELETING LINKS---

If you would like to unlink your text or object, you can do the
following:

1. Highlight the text you want to unlink, or select the object you want
to unlink.
2. Click the "chain link" icon in the tool bar to bring up the "Hot
Link" window.
3. Delete the link listed, and click the "OK" button.

---OPENING LINKS IN A NEW BROWSER WINDOW / REMOVING UNDERLINES FROM
LINKS---

These features are currently not available in PageBuilder. If you see
other GeoCities sites that have these features, then the designer of the
page coded it in HTML or _JavaScript by using the Advanced HTML Editor or
another software program. PageBuilder is designed for users to not have
to know complicated HTML and/or _JavaScript programming in order to
create a web page.

---PROBLEMS CREATING LINKS---

If you're having difficulty using the Link button, please make sure you
don't have multiple objects selected. Only one object can be linked at a
time.

If you want to link text, you need to highlight the exact word or
letters and not just the text box.

---LINKS AREN'T WORKING---

If your links don't work, you might be referencing them incorrectly.
Your Yahoo! GeoCities URL and file names are case sensitive, so
"index.html" is not the same as "Index.html" or "INDEX.HTML." Also, the
file extension ".htm" is not the same as ".html." Check that you used
the same capitalization in the links as in the file names.

Please do not hesitate to reply if you need further assistance.

Regards,

Leon

Yahoo! Customer Care

For assistance with all Yahoo! services please visit:

http://help.yahoo.com/



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

When pointing
The link that says "example link" with the mouse, it should appear in
the status bar as:

http://www.geocities.com/vikiwl/copia.htm?#link and not
http://www.geocities.com/vikiwl/copia.htm?200527#link


Viki


Yahoo! GeoCities wrote:
Hello,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! GeoCities.

Account Type: GeoCities Free

Yahoo! ID/Domain Name: vikiwl

Agent Name: dk_jainnish

Approved by: dk_sherryt

Issue: The user is asking that while viewing the "Example Link" on his
web site, the status bar shows the following:

http://www.geocities.com/vikiwl/copia.htm?200527#link

The user is inquiring about "?200527#link," appearing after .htm.
Since we do not have any information about this, hence please assist.

Duplicated?: Yes

Troubleshooting: N/A

Please do not hesitate to reply if you need further assistance.

Regards,

Wendy

Yahoo! Customer Care

For assistance with all Yahoo! services please visit:

http://help.yahoo.com/



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Hi,

I used the same html coding in my page at other web hosts and
I don't have this problem with anchor links showing an "?200524" thing


Viki


Yahoo! GeoCities wrote:
Hello Viki,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! GeoCities. I hope this email will help
to resolve your question.

As I understand you are asking about the number that appears on the
status bar of your webpage.

Please note that these are directly related to the HTML coding of your
webpage.

HTML uses a series of formatting commands known as TAGS, which tells
your browser how to display each page, including placement of graphics
and text, colors, and links.

--- HTML RESOURCES ---
For all your help needs on HTML, linking to files, adding graphics, and
more, check out our HTML Help Topics, at:

http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/geo/ghtml/

For help on how to use any of GeoCities' web page editors, please go to:

http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/geo/editors/
We recommend that users check out this list of HTML tutorials:

http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Data_Formats/HTML/Guides_and_Tutorials/

Please do not hesitate to reply if you need further assistance.

Regards,

Cecil

Yahoo! Customer Care

For assistance with all Yahoo! services please visit:

http://help.yahoo.com/



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Here it is:

Yahoo geocities ID: vikiwl
File name in question: copia.htm
built-in html editor

On my sample "anchor links" page at http://www.geocities.com/vikiwl/copia.htm

Point to the "example link" text and see in the status bar, that the
link has an "?200524" attached after the .htm
Why is that? I did not named my file as copia.htm?200524

Also when the link is clicked on, I'm taken to, as if it's a different
target page

Please help,
Viki W.


Yahoo! GeoCities wrote:
Hello,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! GeoCities.

I am a bit confused, your email did not contain enough information for
us to determine your question or problem.

In order for us to better assist you, please reply to this email with
the following additional information:

- Your Yahoo! GeoCities ID.
- File name in question.
- Editor used, if relevant.
- A description of all actions you took that led up to the problem you
are experiencing, including the exact text of any error messages you may
have received, how often the problem occurs, and any other relevant
information.

As soon as we receive this important information, we'll be happy to
further assist you.

I look forward to your reply.

Regards,

Max

Yahoo! Customer Care

For assistance with all Yahoo! services please visit:

http://help.yahoo.com/



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------


What Is Your Yahoo Id Member Name
vikiwl

Email Address
vikiwl@yahoo.com

Subject:
Help with Links

What Is Your Domain Name
none

If You Are Having Trouble With A Particular File What's Its Name


Type Your Feedback Here:
Why after the .htm there is an "?
200522" attached in the anchor links
when viewing my page?

It is ok to send a survey.


While Viewing: http://add.yahoo.com/cct/feedback.php
Browser: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET
CLR 1.1.4322)
Remote Address: 216.148.246.88
Remote Host: proxyche08.sj3.marketscore.com
Date Originated: Tuesday 22nd of February 2005 06:22:53 PM
Amt Link: https://amt.yahoo.com/amt/dosearch?.token=zCKfM0QwTXHVYlm4RIZj
Avatar of bruno
bruno
Flag of United States of America image

do you have the ability to edit the html of your page?  if so just delete the numbers
Avatar of ljo8877
ljo8877

That's interesting, Viki.

This is something that Geocities is adding. It causes the page to refresh the first time the internal link is clicked and then is no longer part of the href.

Why they're doing this was not apparent from a quick look at the linked javascript files; however, that number represents the year and day e.g. today March 2, 2005 the number is 20052. A boolean flag is set in one of their javascripts if this number is part of the url. It is the ?20052 that causes the page to reload. An obvious referrence didn't appear in their cookies.

The responses you have received sound like a run-around, but could also be a question of one department not communicating with another and a help desk that isn't prepared to look too deeply into questions. I'm going to guess that there is little you can do about it.  Accept, maybe coding your page to reload immediately. Perhaps you can have a first page that simply calls the real first page. The page would be

<body onload="location='realfirstpage.html'">
<a href="realfirstpage.html>go here</a>
</body>

Avatar of cayi

ASKER

>do you have the ability to edit the html of your page?  if so just delete the numbers
the numbers won't show while editing

>Perhaps you can have a first page that simply calls the real first page. The page would be

<body onload="location='realfirstpage.html'">
<a href="realfirstpage.html>go here</a>
</body>


Like this?: http://www.geocities.com/vikiwl/redirection.htm

It will be O.K. if I didn't had any anchor links.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Avatar of ljo8877
ljo8877

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Avatar of cayi

ASKER

Ok.