Linking to Lesson Items with Go To

Linking between pages within your ANGEL course is not as simple as copying the URL from the location bar and pasting it into link you are creating. And although you can get the link you want by copying a link that ANGEL has created to the item, links made in this way may break when you export the course and import it to your new course space for the next course offering.

Example: maybe you would like to provide your students with a link from a page in a lesson in week 2 where you mention a future assignment to the page in week 7 where the assignment is described in detail.

Here is how to construct your link:

1. Note the title of the page that you intend to link to. It might make sense to copy it to your clipboard (Control + C). In my example I will link to a page titled "List of Tasks." (see Figure 1 below)
2. Begin forming the link URL by typing $GOTO$
3. After that type the name of the page that you are linking to.

Figure 1

Example: If I want to link from my course syllabus to a page in my course called "List of Tasks," my URL would be "$GOTO$List of Tasks". (see Figure 2 below)

Figure 2

Important Note: if you have more than one page with the same title, ANGEL won't know which page you intended to link to. It will present the student with a list of the pages with the title and ask them to choose. Therefore, be sure to give each page a unique title. For example, naming the first page in each weekly folder "Introduction" would be a bad idea. Instead, think about naming them "Week X - Introduction" or "Introduction to Week X." (See Figure 2 below)

Figure 2

How it Works

This method uses the $GOTO$ token within HTML syntax to link to an ANGEL item (Page, Quiz, Message Board, etc.). When the link is activated (clicked), the $GOTO$ "token" searches the current ANGEL course for any items that match it's criteria, in our example that would be "List of Tasks". If one item exists that matches the criteria (an ANGEL Page item), clicking the link takes you to that item.

If more than one item meets the search criteria, ANGEL displays a list of all the items meeting the criteria, as shown in figure 2.

Search strings can also be formed using plus signs (+) between search terms. This allows flexibility in using the $GOTO$ token as a search method. Use more search terms to narrow the search or fewer search terms to broaden the search.

For example, you might form a URL that looks like $GOTO$Lesson+7+Objectives if you want to display a list of all items that include "Lesson", "7" and "Objectives" in the title.

You can provide additional information in the $GOTO$ search string to further restrict your search (where objects may have the same title and you only want to return one result). For example, as shown in the following HTML syntax, by including the TYPE attribute within the string, you can restrict the search to a particular type of ANGEL item.

You may restrict to other ANGEL item types using the keywords PAGE, FILE, LINK, BOARD, MESSAGE, FORM, FOLDER, QUIZ or DROPBOX.

Note: When using the TYPE attribute be sure to insert an ampersand (&) before it. This separates the search criteria from the type specification.

Limitation: This method of linking only works in ANGEL when linking between pages under the Lesson Tab. It will not work from the Syllabus, Calendar or an HTML file that you have created in the Associated File Manager.

Note: Subtitles can also be used, so if you are having trouble narrowing the search down to just one item using the Title, try using the Subtitle instead. Unfortunately using both the Subtitle and the Title in the same search does not appear to be possible.

Note: "#" signs will cause errors using the $GOTO$ command and should not be used in Titles or Subtitles for pages that you intend to link to with it. When the $GOTO$ command encounters a "#" in the search string it ignores everything after the "#".

For example, $GOTO$Lesson #1&TYPE=quiz would be treated as if it were just $GOTO$Lesson (the #1&TYPE=quiz portion is ignored).