NCSA Mosaic for Microsoft Windows User's Guide

Hypertext, Hyperlinks, and Hypermedia

Hypertext is text which contains links, called hyperlinks or anchors, to other text or information. By following these links, a reader can move around within a document or from one document to another. A hyperlink connects the current text to another information resource somewhere on the Internet or to a new location within the current document.

Hyperlinks are highlighted in NCSA Mosaic with color and/or underlining. Single-click on any highlighted phrase and NCSA Mosaic will automatically follow that link and display the new information.

Note that hypertext is not necessarily meant to be read in a linear fashion; by following one set of hyperlinks, a reader may move backward or forward within a single document while other links might carry the reader to any point in any other document on the Web.

The term hypertext actually refers only to text-based documents. Many documents in the Web environment are hypermedia, containing inline images and links to graphics, videos, animations, and sound.

Given the inherent multimedia nature of the Web environment, this user guide will use the terms hypertext and hypermedia interchangeably.

National Center for Supercomputing Applications / mosaic-win@ncsa.uiuc.edu