Links Report

The Links Report provides a list of all hyperlinks in your system and whether or not they are broken. As it generates the report, Squiz Matrix will test internal links (hyperlinks to other assets, for example an Image), external links (hyperlinks to other websites, for example http://www.squiz.net) and mailto links (hyperlinks that will send an email to a user, for example email@squiz.com.au) to see if it works. If it finds a broken link it will outline what may be wrong with it. Once it has been generated, you can export this report to a CSV file.

Bookmarks to the headings on this page:  

  1. Details Screen
  2. Report Screen

Details Screen

The Details screen allows you to configure the settings of the LinksReport. For more information about the Status, Future Status and Thumbnail section of the Details screen, see the Details Screen chapter in the Asset Screens manual.

Future Report Regeneration

This section allows you to schedule a generation of the report at a date and time in the future. This requires the Cron Manager to be configured on the Squiz Matrix server. If it has not been set up, these fields will not be available. If it is set up, the fields shown in the figure below will be displayed.

The Future Report Regeneration section of the Details screen
The Future Report Regeneration section of the Details screen

The fields available are as follows:  

  • At: select the date and time for when the report generation should occur from the list provided.
  • Next Run: alternatively, click on the Next Run button to set the date and time to the next run of the Cron Manager.
  • Or In: you can set the report generation to take place in a certain number of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or years. Enter the number into the text box and select the appropriate time frame from the list provided.
  • Repeat this process: you can choose to repeat this process every so many minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or years. Enter the number into the text box and select the appropriate time from the list provided.
Details

This section allows you to configure the various settings of the Links Report. The Details section of the Details screen is shown in the figure below.

The Details section of the Details screen
The Details section

The fields available are as follows:

  • Report Name: by default, the name that was entered into the Report Name field when the report was created will appear in this field. You can change the name of the report by clicking into this field and entering the new Report Name.
  • Root Node: by default this field is left blank. This means that the Links Report will be generated for the entire system. If you wanted to run the report on a specific section of your system, for example your Site, you can specify the parent asset of this section in this field.
  • Asset Statuses: specify what Status the asset must be to be included in the report.  For example, if you wanted to include all assets that are Under Construction and Live, select these two values from the list. By default, Live is selected. To select multiple Statuses, hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard and click on each Status to be included.
  • Regenerate Report: by default, if the report has never been generated, no information will appear in this section, as shown in the figure above. Once the report has been generated, the date, time and which user generated the report will appear in this section, as shown in the figure below. Whenever the report is regenerated, this information will be updated.  

    The Report Information in the Regenerate Report field
    The Report information in the Regenerate Report section  

    To generate the latest version of the report, click Generate the latest version of this report and click Commit.  

    Tip: The last version of the report that was generated is stored so that you can view it without having to regenerate it. If you want the latest version of your report, however, you need to regenerate it.  

  • Report Broken Links?: this filed allows you to specify whether or not to send an internal message to the administrators of the asset if a broken link is found while the report is being generated. By default, this option is No meaning that no internal messages will be sent.
  • Report Broken Links Now Button: this button allows you to send an internal message to the administrators of the asset if a broken link is found. These messages will be sent based on the current report that has been generated. If the report has not been generated, this button will not be enabled. If you select No in the Report Broken Links field while the report was being generated, this button will be enabled. Once it has been clicked, however, it will become disabled until the next regeneration of the report. This ensures that the notifications are only sent out once per generation of the report.
  • Export Report: once the report has been generated, you will be able to export it to a CSV file. To export the report click on the Download File button. A pop-up similar to that shown in the figure below will appear.  

    The Save File pop-up
    The Save File pop-up  

    Click on the Save to Disk option and click the OK button. The CSV file will be downloaded onto your computer and can be viewed using Microsoft Excel. An example of the format of the file is shown in the figure below.  

    An example of the exported CVS file
    An example of the downloaded CSV file  

    The file outlines information about the asset (asset ID, name, short name, type code and status), what type of hyperlink it has (internal, external or mailto), whether or not the link is valid (1 is valid and 0 is not valid) and the URL of the link. For example, in the figure above, all the links are valid.
Display Options

The Display Options section allows you to define which sections of the Links Report you want to see on the Reports screen. For example, if you only want to see the information about all the broken links in the system, deselect the Display Working Links box in each section and click Commit. The Display Options section of the Details screen is shown in the figure below.

The Display Options section of the Details screen
The Display Options section

The fields available in these sections include:

  • Internal Links: these are hyperlinks that point to another asset within your system, for example an Image.
  • External Links: these are hyperlinks that point to a URL that is not within your system, for example http://www.squiz.net.
  • Email Links: these are hyperlinks with protocol set to mailto.

When changing these options, the affects will be visible on the report without having to regenerate it.

Report Screen

By default, if the report has not been generated, the Report screen will not show any information. Once the report has been generated, it will appear on this screen. The Report, Internal Links, External Links and Email Links sections of the Report screen are shown in the figure below.

The Report, Internal Links, External Links and Email Links sections of the Report screen
The Report screen

The information that is displayed on this screen is as follows:

  • Internal Links: internal links are those hyperlinks that point to another asset within your system, for example an Image. For each internal link the following information is displayed:  
    • Found In: this field shows the Status, ID and name of the asset where the link is located. You can click on the name of the asset to display the Details screen of the asset.
    • Linking To: this field shows the Status, ID and name of the asset, which is the destination for an internal link. For example, in the report shown in the figure above, there is an internal link on the About page that links to an Image.  

      Tip: For an internal link, if the Status of the Found In asset is Live and the Status of the Found In asset is Live and the Status of the Linking To asset is Under Construction, it should be considered a broken link. Users will not be able to access the linked page without logging into Squiz Matrix.  

    • Comments: this field shows information about the status of the link. If something appears in this field for an asset it means that the hyperlink is broken. For example, in the figure shown above, the Home page has a link to aPDF File that is in the Trash.
  • External Links: external links are those links that point to a URL that is not within your system, for example http://www.squiz.net. For each external link the following information is displayed:  
    • Found In: this field shows the Status, ID and name of the asset where the link is located. You can click on the name of the asset to display the Details screen of the asset.
    • URL: this field shows the URL of the hyperlink. For example, in the report shown in the figure above, there is a link on the Products page to http://squiz.net.
    • Comments: this field shows information about the status of the link. If something appears in this field for an asset it means that the hyperlink is broken. For example, in the figure shown above, there is an external link on the News page to http://sqiz.net which is broken.
  • Email Links: email links are those with protocol set to mailto. For each email link the following information is displayed:  
    • Found In: this field shows the Status, ID and name of the asset where the link is located. You can click on the name of the asset to display the Details screen of the asset.
    • Email: this field shows the email address of the link. For example, in the report shown in the figure above, there is a link on the News page to email@squiz.com.au.
    • Comment: this field shows information about the format of the email address. If something appears in this field for an asset it means that the hyperlink is broken. For example, if you have created an email link to email@s, Squiz Matrix will pick it up as a broken link as it is not a complete email address.

    Tip: Squiz Matrix cannot send a test email to ensure the email address exists and hence cannot tell if it is broken. You will have to check manually that the email address is correct.  

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