This guide will show you how to create and manage external hyperlinks directly inside your documents. Whether you're referencing a website, sharing a resource, or connecting to online documentation, Criterion makes it easy to add clickable links with just a few clicks.
With this feature, you can:
All actions are consistent across menu, toolbars, and keyboard shortcuts β so you can work the way you prefer.
You can turn any selected text into a clickable link that opens an external webpage (e.g., https://www.example.com).
Note important:
Choose any of these methods:
| Method | Action |
|---|---|
| Menu | Go to Insert β Link |
| Bubble Toolbar | Click the π Link icon (appears after text selection) |
| Contextual Menu | Right-click β Click the π Link icon |
| Toolbar Button | Click the π Link icon in the main toolbar |
| Keyboard Shortcut | Press Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or β+K (macOS) |
A small dialog box appears where you can:
1. Enter or paste the full URL (e.g., https://www.criterion-app.com/support) 2. Confirm by clicking Insert or pressing Enter
The selected text becomes a clickable blue hyperlink.
You can change the destination of any existing link without starting over.
Make sure the linked text is selected, then use one of these methods:
| Method | Action |
|---|---|
| Menu Bar | Insert β Link (only active if linked text is selected) |
| Bubble Toolbar | Click the π Link icon |
| Contextual Menu | Right-click β Click the π Link icon |
| Toolbar Button | Click the π Link button again |
| Keyboard Shortcut | Press Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or β+K (macOS) |
The same dialog box appears, allowing you to modify the URL. Click Insert to save changes.
This action removes only the link behaviour and formatting β the text stays exactly where it is.
With the linked text selected, choose one of the following:
| Method | Action |
|---|---|
| Menu | Insert β Remove Link |
| Bubble Toolbar | Click the π Link icon β Select Remove Link |
| Contextual Menu | Right-click β Click the π Link icon β Remove Link |
| Toolbar Button | Click the π Link button β Click Remove Link icon |
| Keyboard Shortcut | Press Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows/Linux) or β§β+K (macOS) |
The text returns to normal β no underline, no colour, no clickability.
| Location | Links Supported? |
| Main Text | β Yes |
| Apparatus Boxes (Critical, Page, Section, Margin Notes) | β Yes (in free text portions) |
| Sidebar Boxes (Comments, Bookmarks) | β Yes (in free text portions) |
| Table of Contents | β No |
| Bibliography Section | β No (use citations instead) |
| Export Format | Link Preservation |
| β Links remain clickable in the exported PDF | |
| XML/TEI P5 | β Links encoded as <ref> elements with target attribute |
| Excel (Apparatus Export) | β URLs preserved in cell content |
| β URLs visible (underlined or as footnotes depending on settings) |
| Action | Windows/Linux | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Insert Link | Ctrl+K | β+K |
| Edit Link | Ctrl+K (with link selected) | β+K (with link selected) |
| Remove Link | Ctrl+Shift+K | β§β+K |