Creating Links

on this page: creating | deleting | linking to a viewpoint | editing | advanced

Find it: Click the Link Editor button on the Action palette:

Use the Link Editor to add hyperlinks to the objects in your scene. What happens when you click a linked object depends on the type of target file specified. If the target URL is a VRML file, clicking the linked object replaces the current scene in the browser with the new scene. If the target URL is a sound file, clicking the linked object plays the sound. If the target URL also contains a viewpoint, clicking the linked object moves you to the specified viewpoint within that scene.

Creating a Link

To create a link to another document (a VRML scene, an HTML document, or a sound file, for example):

  1. In the main window, select the object that will contain the link.

  2. Open the Link Editor.

  3. In the URL text box, type the URL. For example:

    http://beanbag.esd/usr/people/josie/amusementPark.wrl

    To browse files, click the Browse button. To view URLs specified previously, click the arrow button.

  4. The Description field allows you to specify a user-friendly description of the link. The browser may display this description in place of the target URL when the user moves the mouse over the linked object. For example:

    Click to travel to the Amusement Park.

  5. The Parameters field is used by certain browsers that interpret additional information for hyperlinks. For example, some HTML browsers allow you to specify a target frame within the document. When the HTML file is loaded, it is initially placed at this target frame.

    To name a specific frame in an HTML document, use the syntax target= and then specify the name of the frame. For example:

    target=ContentsFrame

  6. Click the Create Link button.

Deleting a Link

To delete a link:

  1. In the main window, select the object that contains the link.

  2. In the Link Editor, click the Remove Link button.

Linking to a Viewpoint

You can create links to named viewpoints, both in the current scene and in other scenes. This feature allows you to click objects in the scene and automatically travel to a new viewpoint.

To create a link to a viewpoint in the current scene:

  1. Use the Viewpoint Editor to create one or more named viewpoints.

  2. In the main window, select the object that will contain the link.

  3. Open the Link Editor. Place a check mark in the Current Document box if it is not already checked.

  4. Specify the target viewpoint in the #Target in URL box. Use the Browse button to browse viewpoints defined in the current scene.

    For example: #EntryView

    Cosmo Worlds will insert the # sign if you don't include one.

  5. Click the Create Link button.

To link to a named viewpoint in a different scene, you need to know the name of the viewpoint you want to link to. (There is no browser facility for searching viewpoints in other scenes.) Determine the viewpoint name by looking at the VRML file with the Outline Editor.

To create a link to a viewpoint in a different scene:

  1. In the main window, select the object that will contain the link.

  2. Open the Link Editor. Be sure the Current Document box is not checked.

  3. Type the URL for the target document into the URL field. For example:

    http://beanbag.esd/usr/people/josie/amusementPark.wrl

  4. Type the # sign and the viewpoint name in the #Target in URL field:

    #EntryView

Editing an Existing Link

To edit an existing link:

  1. In the main window, select the linked object.

  2. Open the Link Editor and edit any of the text boxes.

  3. Click the Change Link button.

Advanced: The Link Editor adds an Anchor node to the scene file. The Anchor node is placed above the current selection (the object containing the link). The object containing the link is a child of the Anchor node.

Jump to: Defining Viewpoints