# Inserting Internet links
> [HTML Version](hm_working_links_web.html)
This function inserts Internet URLs and email links in your help. Internet links are supported in all published help formats. The easiest way to create an Internet link is to type the URL in the editor – Help+Manual will automatically recognize the URL and turn it into an active hyperlink.
**(./images/flag_green.gif) Key Information**
When inserting web links always include the _http://_ or _https://_ protocol prefix\! Web links without this prefix will almost always fail.
[] Creating Internet links automatically
- Type a web URL or an email address in your text. Help+Manual will automatically recognize the URL and turn it into an active link. (This function can be deactivated. See [Program Options - Editor](hm_ribbon_view_options_editor.md) for details.)
- Double-click on the link to edit it.
- If you edit the link caption you must replace the <%LINK\_CAPTION%> variable with the URL that you want to link to, otherwise the link will point to the text you enter in the caption field, which will not work.
If you don't want the address to be a link just right-click on the link and select **_Convert to plain text_** in the context menu.
You can turn automatic URL recognition off in View > Program Options > Editor.
[] How to insert an Internet link manually
1. Select text in your document if you want to use it as the link. You can also skip this step and enter the caption in the hyperlink dialog.** **
2. Open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box. There are two ways to do this:
- Press **Ctrl+L**
- Select the Link tool in Write > Insert
3. Select the _Internet Link_ tab:
_(./images/dlg_hyperlink_internet.png)_
4. Select the Email or Internet address option and enter the web page URL or the email address. You must include the _http://_ prefix for URLs, otherwise they won't work.
See [The Insert Hyperlink dialog](hm_ribbon_write_insert_links.md#internetlink) for full details on the settings in the dialog.
[] Inserting Internet links by Drag \& Drop
You can also create web links in topics by Drag \& Drop.
Just drag the URL from your browser's address bar and drop it into the editor. In most browsers you do this by dragging the icon next to the address in the address bar.
Help+Manual will then insert a web link to the page, using the title of the page as the link caption.
[] Links to PDFs from WebHelp and HTML files
### Links to named destinations in PDF from Help+Manual WebHelp
When creating links to named destinations in PDF files from WebHelp you can use exactly the same procedure and syntax as for links from PDF files. Create a file link and follow the instructions above.
### Links to named destinations in PDF from other HTML files
The syntax is also the same for links to named destinations in other HTML files not generated by Help+Manual. Just create a hyperlink using the same **pdf\_file.pdf#nameddest=xxxx** and **pdf\_file.pdf#page=yy** syntax for the **href** target of the link as you use in Help+Manual, where **xxxx** is the named destination and **yy** is the page number.
[] Internet link compatibility in output formats
| | |
|------|------|
| **HTML Help:** | Fully functional |
| **Visual Studio Help:** | Fully functional |
| **WebHelp:** | Fully functional |
| **Adobe PDF:** | Outgoing Internet links functional if activated in Configuration > Publishing Options > Adobe PDF > [PDF Layout](hm_projectprops_pdfex_layout.md). |
| **eWriter Help for Windows and MacOS:** | Fully functional |
| **ePUB and Kindle eBooks:** | Supported in the format but remember that hardware readers may not have Internet access |
| **MS Word DOCX:** | Fully functional |