Linking to a pdf or other file stored on a computer

Facilitating access to full-text through RefWorks by adding links to saved files

A few points to consider before you begin:

You may have problems linking to documents stored on your C:\drive. The inability to link from web pages to files on the C:\ drive is a security feature that was introduced in Windows XP Service Pack 2. If you have documents stored on a folder on your C:\ drive, perhaps you can copy them to a server with a stable location name? If you wish to obtain access to files saved on a server from multiple computers, it is important that the server in question have the same drive name (e.g. H:\) on all the computers.

The method described below works best if you use Internet Explorer.

Creating links to saved files is easiest if you avoid using spaces or underscores in filenames and folder names, but it is possible, with a little more work, to create links to folders/files with underscores and spaces in their names.

In order to link to a file on your computer you may need to specify RefWorks as a trusted site within your browser. If you are using Internet Explorer you would do the following:1. Go to Tools and Internet Options. 2. Click on the Security tab and click on Trusted Site. 3. Click on Sites and type in https://www.refworks.com/_.

The notes above and the instructions below have been excerpted, with the exception of a few minor revisions, from: RefWorks: Linking to Full-text. University of Wisconsin -- Madison, last updated August 28, 2008, accessed September 30,2008. Available at: http://www.library.wisc.edu/refworks/quick-start.html#link-to-full-text_


Adding a link to a pdf or other file stored on a computer

1. Find and copy the complete path/pathway to your .pdf/file.
An easy way to get the path to your saved file is to use your web browser. The following instructions apply to Internet Explorer 7. Open your web browser and click on File and Open. An "Open" dialog box will appear. Click on the "Browse" button. A "Windows Internet Explorer" dialog box will appear. Use the box's "File as type" drop-down menu to select "All files". Browse to your file location, click on the file and click the "Open" button. You now can copy the pathway from the "Open:" box (in the "Open" dialog box) or click the "Open" button (in the "Open" dialog box) and copy the pathway from the browser's "Address" box. The pathway may look something like the following:

E:\reflinks\sample.pdf


2. Click on the "Edit" link in the appropriate RefWorks record (the "Edit" link is next to the "Check for UNMC full-text" button). The "Edit Reference" screen will appear. Paste the path into either the "links" or "url" field.


3. Edit the pasted path as follows
a. Type --

file:///

-- before the path. This will create a link that looks something like the following:

Example: file:///E:/reflinks/sample.pdf_


b. replace any spaces in the path with --

%20

If our file name had been "sample document", our edited link would look like the following:

Example: file:///E:/Reflinks/sample%20document.pdf_

c. Underscores should not be replaced. Unfortunately, they can resemble spaces when an entire link is underlined.

4. Click on "Save Reference".

5. Click on the "View" link to display your record with the linked file pathway. Simply click on the link to open and view the pdf or file.
The links you add to records will be visible whenever you use the "Switch to" menu to display the "Full View" in RefWorks.