The Links page identifies any links that are Broken and any links that are Private.
Broken Links show as not Valid. Help Center Manager checks each link from the backend server, and if access fails, the link is marked as broken.
- A link that is not Valid is where it links to an article that is "Draft", "Archived" or "Deleted" in the Zendesk Help Center. If a reader of the Help Center clicks on the link, it would either break or it would only display if the user was signed into Zendesk. Checks are also made for links to pages on external websites and other URLs that are no longer valid.
Refer below to Links that Help Center Manager Checks.
- Where the link is to a valid site but needs authorization to access it, this also shows as not Valid. This may also be to a link that points to a page not available on the internet (such as a link pointing to your own desktop). You can mark any of these as valid so they are no longer included as a link that needs to be corrected. Refer to Marking a Broken Link as Valid in Fixing Broken Links.
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Where a link is to an external site, the broken link might be due to a temporary issue with that website.
Private Links
- A link that is Private is where it links to an article that is set in Zendesk Help Center as Visible to anything other than "Everyone". If a reader of the Help Center clicked on the link, and they are not already signed in with the relevant access, they would be prompted to sign in to Zendesk.
On the Links page, this shows as locked with the padlock icon next to the article Title.
In this Article
Checking Broken Links on the Links Page
Displaying all the Broken Links
Checking for Links to "Private" Articles
Links that Help Center Manager Checks
Links that are not Checked within an Article
Checking Broken Links on the Links Page
Any links to articles that have a Publication Status in your Zendesk Help Center of "Draft" or to any articles that have been "Archived" or "Deleted" show in the Links page as not valid. These display in the Links page with a red x icon in the Valid column.
Links to Draft Articles
- Any linked articles that are "Draft" show as not Valid, and show with the Draft icon next to the Link Title.
In Zendesk Help Center, if a reader clicks on a link to a Draft article, it will prompt the user to login.
Links to Archived Articles
- Any linked articles that are "Archived" show as not Valid, and shows without the article Title in the Link Title column.
In Zendesk Help Center, if a reader clicks on a link to an archived article it will show the following message.
These links need to be fixed. Refer to Fixing Broken Links.
Displaying all the Broken Links
First ensure that a Quick Sync or a Full Sync has been run to make sure any changes in Zendesk have been updated to Help Center Manager. Refer to Syncing the Zendesk Data to Help Center Manager.
- Click the Add filter button.
- Select the Filter for Valid.
- Set the Valid Filter as "No". Refer to Using the Filters in Articles, Links and Media.
Checking for Links to "Private" Articles
You can also use the Links page to check for links to any articles that are set in the Zendesk Help Center as Visible to anything other than "Everyone". These would be set as Visible to "Signed in Users" or "Agents and Admins", and if they are set for any other "User Segment" that you have set up in your Zendesk Help Center. On the Links page, these show with the locked icon next to the article Title.
If a reader who is not signed in, or does not have the correct permission to the Help Center, clicks on one of these links, the link does not break but the reader is prompted to sign in to Zendesk. You can check that any of these articles have the correct settings for Visible to that are intended. If you do want to include links to private articles, these would usually only be added to articles that are themselves private, or you may have a note next to the link that the information is only available for users with special access.
- Click the Add filter button.
- Select the Filter for Private.
- Set the Private Filter as "Yes".
- Make sure the Valid Filter is not set, or is set as "All".
Refer to Using the Filters in Articles, Links and Media.
Links that Help Center Manager Checks
Help Center Manager checks the links in all "Published" and "Draft" articles in your Zendesk Help Center. Checks are made both when a link to an article has been added from the "Insert/edit Link" function in Zendesk using from the "Help Center article" tab or from the "URL" tab.
The following links are shown as not Valid.
- A link to an "Archived" or "Deleted" article. If a reader clicks these in the Zendesk Help Center, it would break with the "oops" message.
- Link to a "Draft" article (that is, it has been Unpublished in Zendesk). If a reader clicks these in the Zendesk Help Center, it would prompt a user to sign in.
- Link to a Section that has been deleted (a link to a Section can be added as a link in Zendesk Help Center by adding the URL of the section).
- Link to a page on an external website (such as a link to your website or any other web page) and that page no longer exists.
- Link to a file that has been added as a URL link and the file has then been deleted or moved.
- Link to something that is a valid URL but, for example, needs authorization to access it.
You can mark any of these as valid so they are no longer included as a link that needs to be corrected. Refer to Marking a Broken Link as Valid in Fixing Broken Links.
The following links are shown as Valid and show as Private.
- Link to a Published article that is not Visible to "Everyone". For example, where Visible to is set as "Agents and Admin", "Signed-un users" or to a "User segment" that has been set up for your Zendesk Help Center. These show in the Links page when the Private Filter is set to "Yes".
Links that are not Checked within an Article
Help Center Manager does not check any links to headings within an article. These are the links added from the Heading tab of the Insert/edit Link option in Zendesk. For example, if you add a link to a Heading within the article, and then delete that heading, if a reader clicks the link it does not respond or break in any way and the cursor just sits there. In this instance there is nothing that the Help Center Manager can check for.