Find Backlinks
John Howard
This may be obvious, but maybe I've missed it. If we create a version of a document, and there are links built to it from various parts of the web portal, if we want to replace it with a later version, how do we find all the incoming links (backlinks), which we will now have to recreate? Alternatively, if this can't be done, can we have a document REPLACE function?
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Mike Wish
I would add that instead of backlinks, it might be helpful if HOA Express would expose some sort of Media Library where we can see and manage existing files and replace files in the same URL so that backlinks are not affected. Page URLs would be helpful to manage also.
Meredith Owens
We are open to looking into this. However, it would be challenging to develop, as there are dozens of places where a link to a document could be posted (page text, forum posts, survey intros, online payment descriptions, etc.). Therefore, this post will need to receive quite a bit of traction for us to consider this further.
In the meantime, there are tools you can use to help you find broken links on the website. However, those would likely only work for public pages.
Janelle Miner
Meredith Owens: As suggested in the previous comments, if you just created a document "replace" feature that didn't change the link, you wouldn't have to worry about all the different places where documents live.
Meredith Owens
Janelle Miner: Links to files are tied to the page where they’re uploaded. Therefore, by moving it to another page, that would break any previous links. I'm afraid adding a “replace” feature wouldn’t change the page the document was uploaded to, so it wouldn’t change its URL in that way.
John Schlitter
Meredith Owens: What about a "search" for links on pages. I can see how ugly it could get if an Association's site goes through a layout overhaul with pages renamed, replacement documents, etc. At least you could see what pages have links that might need updating.
Meredith Owens
John Schlitter: Thank you for sharing this suggestion! That is something we could consider.
In the meantime, you can use a third-party “broken link checker” tool. Some browser-extension-based broken link checkers may be able to work with private pages on your website, as well. You could also temporarily lift restrictions on pages, run a tool, and then re-add restrictions afterward.
John Schlitter
Meredith Owens: The problem is finding the pages with links. the broken link checker you described assumes you already know what pages had links. I'm suggesting a search that lists the pages containing links and show the links. Imagine changing, renaming, or deleting a page, a file, a folder and wondering what other pages (created long ago by others) pointed to it.