Congratulations! You've published your guide.

That's the first step. Now you are committed to its care and feeding. Get into the habit of checking your guides routinely for:

• dated or incorrect content
• broken links
• relevance to current course offerings
• visits and use
   

What is checked

The LibGuides Link Checker will examine links in the following asset types::

• databases
• links
• books

What is not checked

• links that are embedded in rich text. PDFs, Word documents, or widgets
• links on pages / guides that have not been visited in last 7 days

What causes a broken link report

• Pages that return a "not found" or 404 message
• Pages that return a "moved permanently" message
• Pages that timeout before loading
• Pages that are temporarily offline when the link checker visited it.

"False Drops"

Link checkers just understand a server response. Sometimes, you will see a link that seems to you to be working fine reported as broken. This can happen with

• links that redirect from one URL to another
  You can update the link to the :final" one or place the link on the exclusions list (more about that below)
   
• links that redirect from http to https or that do not answer to https
  It's a good idea to update links form http to https when you can.

How to fix your links

1. Set a schedule, say monthly or weekly, to check on your links. This will make it quick work to manage your broken links.
   The link checker runs every week.
2. Login to LibGuides and navigate to Tools > Link Checker in the orange menu bar.
   
   
3. Filter for your name as owner.
   
4. Investigate the link by clicking on it.
   If you need to update the link, click the pencil on the far right to edit it. (You will only see the editing pencil on the items you own).
   If you would like to see how this link is used in your guides, click the Mapping Count number. This is especially useful if you want to check to see if there are other items in the content box or if the entire box might be deleted.
   
5. Outcomes
   1. You are able to fix the link.
      If you were able to correct the item, congratulations! You can now dismiss this link from the broken link report
      To do this, check the trashcan on the far left. Don't worry, you are not deleting your link, just deleting your link from the report.
      Your link will not be checked again for at least 7 days.
      
      
   2. The link seems fine.
      If the link seems perfectly good to you, you can choose to exclude it from future reports. To add your link to the exclusion list, click the plus sign  on the far left.
      Be sparing about the exclusions list; we don't want to sweep future problems under the rug!
      
   3. The link is broken, the site is gone, and there is no fixing it.
      If the link is truly broken, and you can't find a replacement link for it, then you may wish to remove the link from the system.

Easy way: Click on the Guide Mappings number to delete it from your guides. Once an asset has zero mappings on the system, we periodically bulk delete them from the system.

More complex, but strangely satisfying way. Go to Content > Assets on the Orange menu bar, search for your link and delete it from the system there.

That's it! You're done! Until next time!