WikiProject:Use Check My Links to Find Broken Links

Use Check My Links to Find Broken Links

Purpose

Before a Wiki page can be approved, all the broken links on that page must be found and fixed. This is the first part that requires using the Check My Links extension on the Chrome browser. After finding links, they will be added to a Broken Links Spreadsheet.

Project Contact

Danielle Batson

Task Page

Task List

Reporting Spreadsheet

You will use this spreadsheet to record your results.

Task List

Instructions

Step 1 - Add Check My Links to Chrome browser

1. You must have the Chrome browser to download this Chrome extension and do this project. If you do not have Chrome on your computer, you can download it from this Google website.

2. To download the extension, Check My Links, open your Chrome browser and go to this website: Check My Links

3. Click on the button to add the extension to Chrome.

4. Once it's loaded, restart Chrome by closing it out and opening it again. (Remember that you only need to add Check My Links to Chrome once)

5. Once you are back in Chrome, go to the Task List to select the Wiki page you will review by putting your name in Column J, Record Broken Links.

6. Once on the wiki page, go to the top right hand corner of the screen and click on the Check My Links icon. It will begin reviewing the page.

7. A dialogue box will appear in the top right corner and the page will fill with different colors highlighting links. Be sure to let the program finish the page before doing anything.

Step 2

1. Review the links in the dialogue box in the top right of the screen.

Meaning of links:

Green: Valid links (link is working)
FamilySearch Green: Valid redirect link (link is working)
Yellow: Double check this link, it may or may not be broken
Red: This link is broken.

Step 3 - Check Yellow Links

1. Reviewing the yellow links, double check if they are broken by holding the ctrl key and clicking on the link. This will open a new tab and the URL.

2. Review the tab to determine if the link is broken or not.

3. If the website states it is a redirect (from the old link to a new one link not listed in the Wiki), go to Step 5 to fill out the form. Copy and paste the new link in Column I, Any Additional Notes. Then go to the next link.

4. If the link is broken, go to Step 5.

5. If the link is not broken, you will not put this on the spreadsheet and instead go to the next link on the Wiki page.

Step 4 - Check Red Links

1. After checking all yellow links, review the red links to see if they are broken by holding the ctrl key and clicking on the link. This will open a new tab. Review the tab to see if the link is broken.

False positives: If a website does not respond fast enough, Check My Links will bring back a red link error when it isn't really broken. If this happens, go to the next link.
Links to other Wiki pages: Ignore all red links that go to another Wiki page. These pages do work. Examples of pages:
- "See US Military Online Genealogy Records."

Step 5 - Fill out the Spreadsheet

1. Once you find a broken link, fill out the information on the Reporting Broken Links Spreadsheet - Current tab

2. Fill out:

Column A: Date the Wiki page is checked
Column B: Your name
Column C: Wiki page URL
Column D: Header name where the broken link is (i.e., Military Records, Vital Records, etc.)
Column E: Name of broken link (what the link is called on the page)
Column F: List the broken link URL
Column G: If the link goes to a foreign language website, list the language
Column H: If you think the link will be found on multiple pages, please put, Yes. We will double check later.
Column I: List any additional information you would like us to know
Columns J and K you can leave blank (will be used when fixing the links)

3. You can now go to the next broken link on the Wiki page.

4. Once you record all the broken links found on this Wiki page, go to the task list and sign up for another Wiki page.