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criterion:links

Link Management in Criterion

Overview

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:

  • Insert links to external websites
  • Edit existing links
  • Remove links without deleting text

All actions are consistent across menu, toolbars, and keyboard shortcuts — 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:

  • You must select text first. If no text is selected, all options will be disabled.
  • Links can be inserted both in the main text and in the free text in the sidebar boxes.

Choose any of these methods:

Method Action
Menu Go to Insert → Link
Bubble Toolbar Click the 🔗 Link icon (appears after text selection)
Contextual Menu Right-click → Click the 🔗 Link icon
Toolbar Button Click the 🔗 Link icon in the main toolbar
Keyboard Shortcut Press Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or ⌘+K (macOS)

What Happens Next?

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.

Note: Links are preserved when exporting to PDF and XML/TEI formats.

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 → Link (only active if linked text is selected)
Bubble Toolbar Click the 🔗 Link icon
Contextual Menu Right-click → Click the 🔗 Link icon
Toolbar Button Click the 🔗 Link button again
Keyboard Shortcut Press Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or ⌘+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 — the text stays exactly where it is.

With the linked text selected, choose one of the following:

Method Action
Menu Insert → Remove Link
Bubble Toolbar Click the 🔗 Link icon → Select Remove Link
Contextual Menu Right-click → Click the 🔗 Link icon → Remove Link
Toolbar Button Click the 🔗 Link button → Click Remove Link icon
Keyboard Shortcut Press Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows/Linux) or ⇧⌘+K (macOS)

The text returns to normal — no underline, no colour, no clickability.


Supported Locations

Location Links Supported?
Main Text ✅ Yes
Apparatus Boxes (Critical, Page, Section, Margin Notes) ✅ Yes (in free text portions)
Sidebar Boxes (Comments, Bookmarks) ✅ Yes (in free text portions)
Table of Contents ❌ No
Bibliography Section ❌ No (use citations instead)

Export Behavior

Export Format Link Preservation
PDF ✅ Links remain clickable in the exported PDF
XML/TEI P5 ✅ Links encoded as <ref> elements with target attribute
Excel (Apparatus Export) ✅ URLs preserved in cell content
Print ✅ URLs visible (underlined or as footnotes depending on settings)

Best Practices

  • Use descriptive link text: Instead of “click here”, use meaningful text like “Criterion User Manual”
  • Verify URLs before inserting: Broken links cannot be automatically detected by Criterion
  • Keep links updated: If a URL changes, edit the link rather than deleting and recreating it
  • Avoid excessive linking: Too many links can reduce document readability
  • Test links in PDF export: Always verify that links work correctly in the final exported document

Keyboard Shortcuts Summary

Action Windows/Linux macOS
Insert Link Ctrl+K ⌘+K
Edit Link Ctrl+K (with link selected) ⌘+K (with link selected)
Remove Link Ctrl+Shift+K ⇧⌘+K

criterion/links.txt · Last modified: by fincons