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However if you want to link to an outside website, or to certain specially generated Wikimedia pages (such as a past version of an article), it is necessary to provide the full URL. This is done using external link syntax .
To create a link to a special page: [[Special:PrefixIndex/HMS]] → Special:PrefixIndex/HMS. Because the ampersand character (&) is disallowed, it is not possible to create an ordinary link containing &action=edit or &redirect=no in the URL query string. In these cases, use templates or magic words, see #Links containing URL query strings.
You can "deep link" to a section of an article (or other Wikipedia page), using a hash character (#), then the section's title, with underscore characters (_) replacing spaces.
Some websites create short links to make sharing links via instant messaging easier, and to make it cheaper to send them via SMS. This can be done online, at the web pages of a URL shortening service; to do it in batch via bulk upload with tools like CSV importer or on demand may require the use of an API.
For each URL entered, the server adds a new alias in its hashed database and returns a short URL. According to the website, the shortened URLs will never expire. TinyURL offers an API which allows applications to automatically create short URLs. [2] Short URL aliases are seen as useful because they are easier to write down, remember or distribute.
It is bad practice to create links in article text using the format [[Article#Section]]; navigation then becomes difficult if the section is expanded into a new article. Instead, link using a redirect to the main topic; it costs little and makes improvements easier. Thus:
External links and references are two important elements of Wikipedia that newcomers sometimes find trouble with. This page is designed to cover only the technical aspects of linking and referencing; it is essential that editors also familiarize themselves with Wikipedia:External links, Wikipedia:Reliable sources and Wikipedia:Citing sources, as well as Wikipedia's various other policies ...
Therefore, when creating an external link, for optimal use of Linksearch, use a canonical form for the URL. In particular, if after following a link the address bar shows a modified URL, change the URL in the link to that. The list is alphabetic in the URL. Note that an underscore, unlike a blank space, is alphabetically positioned between "Z ...