EBSCOhost Persistent Links - Frequently Asked Questions
- What are EBSCOhost Persistent Links?
- What are Persistent Links to Searches and how can I save them?
- How do persistent links authenticate?
- How are Persistent Links handled with an HTTPS connection?
- What is the default profile for a persistent link?
- How can I modify my account to allow full access to the databases when linking into EBSCOhost through Persistent Links?
Q. What are EBSCOhost Persistent Links?
Persistent Links allow users to retrieve an EBSCOhost article by clicking on a link embedded in a web site. This feature permits professors, teachers and librarians to include links to articles within EBSCOhost on web pages.
By using the proper syntax, you can create links to citations or HTML Full Text within EBSCOhost. If a PDF image is available, links to the image will be available on the citation.
To copy a persistent link to an article:
From an open article, click Permalink in the Tools menu on the right.
Use your browser's copy and paste functionality to copy the link from the Permalink window and paste it into an email, web page, etc.
To e-mail a persistent link to an article:
From an open article, click E-mail in the Tools menu.
In the E-mail Manager, make your selections. Persistent links to articles are automatically included in the e-mail.
Click Send. A message is displayed. Click Continue.
An e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address that is entered. The e-mail will contain the subject and instructions for pasting the link into your web page.
Only authorized users can access the article. When users follow the hyperlink from a web page, they will be prompted for authentication information. After authentication takes place, a search for the article number as specified in the syntax of the link is conducted. The document then displays in a format similar to the DISPLAY TO PRINT view. Users who cannot be authenticated are prompted with an error message indicating that they do not have the proper access rights for the article.
Persistent Links will not expire as long as the content is available within the database. If the content is removed from the database, the Persistent Link will no longer be active.
Note: Persistent linking can be activated in EBSCOadmin.
Q. What are Persistent Links to Searches and how can I save them?
Persistent Links to Searches allow users to quickly re-run a search in EBSCOhost. These links can either be placed in your folder for temporary storage, or you can sign into My EBSCOhost and save the links indefinitely.
To copy a persistent link to a search:
Click the Share button at the top of your Result List.
Highlight the link text in the Permalink box and copy using your browser's copy function. You can immediately paste the link into a web site, document or e-mail.
To save a persistent link to a search to the folder:
Log in to EBSCOhost and conduct your search. A Result List appears.
Click the Share link to the left of the Result List.
Click the Add search to folder link. The search query is now saved in the folder as a persistent link to a search.
To retrieve the persistent link to your search:
Click the View Folder link at the top of the EBSCOhost page, or the Folder has items link above the Results List.
Click on the Persistent Links to Searches link in the left column to view all persistent links to your saved searches.
Note: If you are not signed into your My EBSCOhost Folder, any contents added to the folder will be deleted when your session is closed.
To save your persistent links to searches from the folder:
From the Persistent Links to Searches area of the folder, mark the check boxes of items you wish to save and click the Save icon on the right. The Links to Searches area of the Save Manager displays.
If you are in the folder, Remove these items from folder after saving appears. Indicate whether you want to empty the folder of all items after saving.
Click Save; otherwise, click Back.
From your browser menu, click File>Save As. Enter the path where the file should be saved (for example, C:ProjectResearchInfo). To save to disk, enter the path to the drive (for example, A:ResearchInfo). Be sure to save as an HTML or text file.
Note: The library administrator decides whether the persistent links feature is available.
Q. How do persistent links authenticate?
Persistent links support three different methods of authentication. By default, persistent links authenticate in the following order:
The link will test for the presence of an EBSCOhost authentication cookie. If there is a cookie and the database(s) in the persistent link matches the information found in the cookie, the user will be granted access to the article or search.
The link will detect the IP of the user's workstation and determine if the user has authenticated access to the article. Once authenticated, the user will be granted access to the article or search.
If the link is on a secure or password-protected web page, the Referring URL could be authenticated via EBSCOadmin. In this instance, the user will be granted access to the article or search.
If none of these provide access to the article or search, the user will be presented with a login screen, depending on any additional parameters on the persistent link. Links can be built to prompt for User ID and Password, Patron Barcode Number, or Athens login.
See also:
How do I set up a preferred order of authentication?
Q. How are Persistent Links handled with an HTTPS connection?
When access is provided via an HTTPS connection, additional information is added to the URL to indicate that the request should be filled from a secure profile.
In the case of a persistent link, we fill the request from a secure profile first. If none are found we resolve to the next available profile. If the persistent link was created and then HTTPS was assigned to a profile, EBSCOhost will automatically choose to use the HTTPS connection.
Q. What is the default profile for a persistent link?
The default profile for opening a persistent link is the first profile on your Select Service page. In order for a persistent link to successfully open for any given profile, two criteria must be met:
"Use This Profile for Persistent Links" must be turned on in EBSCOadmin (http://admin.ebscohost.com).
The database indicated by the persistent link must be in the profile.
The persistent link will go through the list of profiles from the top until it finds one that meets these requirements. If none can be found, the link will not open.
Q. How can I modify my account to allow full access to the databases when linking into EBSCOhost through Persistent Links?
When you set up a search alert, you can provide access to just the article, or provide full access to EBSCOhost.
To allow full access to EBSCOhost from a persistent link:
Log in to EBSCOadmin at http://eadmin.ebscohost.com/.
Click Customize Services>Linking.
In the Persistent Links area of the screen, set the Include scope information on persistent links parameter to On.
Click Submit. This will include the scope=site parameter in your persistent links, which will open full access to your users by including the EBSCOhost toolbar.
Note: Your existing alerts are not automatically updated to provide full access. You should update any existing alerts in your My EBSCOhost Folder if you want to provide full access to the EBSCOhost session from the alert.
To update an existing alert to allow full access to EBSCOhost:
Sign in to My EBSCOhost.
In the Search Alerts area of your Folder, locate the alert you want to change and click Edit Alert.
In the Alert Options section, remove the check mark from the Limit EBSCOhost access to only the articles sent field.
Click Save. The alert will now provide access to a full EBSCOhost session.
See also:
What is My EBSCOhost and how is it used?
ID: | 272 |
Topic: | Linking Services |
Services: | EBSCOhost Research Interface |
Link: | http://support.ebsco.com/knowledge_base/detail.php?id=272 |
Updated: | September 2014 |