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Check URL links

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Learn how to create a report to check the URL links to your catalogued web sites in Amlib.

In order to check the URL links for your catalogued Web Sites it is necessary to create a report that will find the URLs in your library database. Once you have a report of URL links you can use a Link Checking Program to test the links.

This document describes how to create a URL Links report with details on executing the report and then checking the results of the report using the Xenu’s Link Sleuth program , however completely free programs are also available on the internet.

Create the Report

A purpose designed report template is used to create a file of URL links in your Library Catalogue.

  1. In Amlib go to Main > Reports > RepAuthority
  2. Select F1 New, highlight the &auth856.qrp template and then the Select button. If this template is not visible, see Appendix A – RepAddNew below
  3. Enter a report description such as URLs for Checking and F3 Save
  4. Highlight the report line and select F7 Where
  5. To report on all URL Authorities (856 MARC TAG) in your system set up the following Where Statement then F3 Save

    TAG = 856 
    KEY LIKE HTTP
  6. Highlight the report line and select F9 Order
  7. Highlight Key and use the right arrow to move Key across onto the Order By column, then F3 Save
  8. To preview the list, highlight the report and F8 View, selecting No to the popup. To check the websites in the Lost Link Verifier however, the results from the Report will need to be saved to file.

Print a Report to File

  1. Highlight the report and select F6 Print
  2. Select File from the window, and not that you may also set up a schedule if you would like to run this process very regularly, then select OK
  3. Browse to where you would like to save the file and select Text Document from the dropdown, then Save
  4. On The Authority Reports window select Application > RepStartSchedule. If this is grey, there is no need to follow these further steps, as the scheduler is already running
  5. Make sure Save to File is ticked then select OK
  6. After a few minutes, the report will be available at the file location where you saved it to and can now be can now be used in the Deep Trawl program

Convert text document to HTML

Most link checkers now require your file to be saved in HTML format, this is just a matter of changing the file extension.

  1. Browse to where your .txt file was saved form Amlib
  2. Right click on the file and select Rename
  3. Type over the file extension to change it from .txt to .html
  4. You will see a warning popup, select Yes to this
  5. Your html file is then able to be used in a link checker

Running the Lost Link Verifier

This example uses Xenu’s Link Sleuth which is a free product from this link: http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html

  1. Open Xenu and click on the Check URL icon
  2. Click on the Local File link
  3. Browse to your saved html file and highlight it, then select Open
  4. Then select OK
  5. The software will then run through and check your links – broken links appear in red
  6. A popup will ask if you would like to see a reports, select Yes
  7. A web report will show you further information about the links

Please Note: You should have a connection open to the Internet before checking files online, otherwise the application will report that the file cannot be found

Other programs that do link checking:

See http://www.cryer.co.uk/resources/link_checkers.htm