File Paths

A file path describes the location of a file in a web site’s folder structure. They are used to link to external files, like:

  • Websites
  • Images
  • Videos
  • MP3 files
  • Style sheets
  • JavaScript code

Absolute File Paths

URL paths in HTML can be absolute paths, like a full URL, for example:

https://codecademy.com/resources/docs

<a href="https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs">
The URL for this anchor element is an absolute file path.
</a>

Relative File Paths

Relative file path are paths that links to a local file in the same folder or on the same server, for example:

  • ./about.html
  • ./style.css
  • ./images/logo.png

Relative file paths begin with ./ followed by a path to the local file. ./ tells the browser to look for the file path from the current folder.

<a href="./about.html">
The URL for this anchor element is a relative file path.
</a>

Link to a Specific Part of the Page

The anchor element <a> can create hyperlinks to different parts of the same HTML document using the href attribute to point to the desired location with # followed by the id of the element to link to.

<div>
<p id="id-of-element-to-link-to">A different part of the page!</p>
</div>
<!-- Later in the page --->
<a href="#id-of-element-to-link-to">Take me to a different part of the page</a>

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