Something similar to this came up at work last week and I think it would be good to tack it on to this thread (hopefully there's enough relevance!).
The problem was that we wanted to handle links to non-html files in a different manner than regular links. Ideally, it shouldn't require any more effort from the content author. The following page shows a simple demonstration of the solution: http://leftjustified.net/lab/javascript-file-links/ By splitting it into a switch/case, you can have different behaviour/style/etc for each file type. A good example might be redirecting all mp3 links via a site's Flash audio widget if Flash (and js) are present. Another useful addition would be to check if the link is the sole child element of an <li>, in which case you may want a large icon to the left (see demo page) or if it's the child of a paragraph, you may want a smaller icon on the right... All without the author even considering that they are linking to a file that could potentially load external apps/plugins. In a controlled input situation (eg: a web developer's blog), a solution like Patrick Lauke's 'type' link styling expermient ( http://www.splintered.co.uk/experiments/38/ ) adds more useful info to the markup and can be used the same way; but when a client is in control of the content you set up whatever automated help you can and cross your fingers ;D Cheers, Andrew. On 7/30/05, Thierry Koblentz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > A more reusable approach would be to check for '://', as this is what > > differentiates 'mailto:', relative paths and 'http://' links, but will > > still allow you to use the script on secure pages. > > Whenever dealing with href maniputlation, it's always good to keep > > 'https' in the back of your mind ;) > > Nice catch! > > > Other than that, it looks like a great approach for sites with client > > controlled content. > > Thanks Andrew, > > Thierry | www.TJKDesign.com > ****************************************************** > The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ > > See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm > for some hints on posting to the list & getting help > ****************************************************** > > -- -------------------------------- http://leftjustified.net/ ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ******************************************************
