URLs (Uniform Resource Locators)

URL is an acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. It is a method for providing an Internet address. A URL typically starts with a protocol name (set of rules and standards computers use to share information), followed by the name of the organization that maintains the site. The suffix identifies the kind of organization it is. Often, commercial site addresses end with .COM, educational site addresses end with .EDU, and government site addresses end with .GOV. For example, eHelp's Web address is www.blue-sky.com.

Web pages authored in HTML usually end with an .HTM or .HTML extension. In HTML Help, topics use these same extensions. Think of a URL as a standard method of naming files on the Web. It is similar to a DOS pathname, but instead of a disk drive letter, a URL begins with a protocol name (such as http), followed by a colon and two slashes. Next comes the name of the Internet server that the file is stored on (known by a unique domain name such as www.blue-sky.com), followed by the directories that hold the file, separated by forward slashes (/). The file name comes last, as shown in the following example:

URL syntax

The URL tells the browser or HTML Help viewer where to find the HTML content. When you work with local HTML files, which will be the majority of files you will be working with in HTML Help, the URLs are similar to DOS paths, ending with the HTML file names, as shown in the following example:

URL syntax