How to use Check My Links

How to Use Check My Links Chrome Extension

Step-by-Step Guide:

Installation:

  1. Go to the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Search for “Check My Links”.
  3. Click the “Add to Chrome” button to install the extension.
  4. Confirm the installation by clicking “Add Extension” in the pop-up dialog.
  5. Confirm the installation by clicking “Add Extension” in the pop-up dialog.

Activation:

  • Once installed, you will see the Check My Links icon in the Chrome toolbar (a small checkmark icon).
  • Navigate to the web page you want to scan for broken links.
  • Click the Check My Links icon in the Chrome toolbar to activate the extension on the current web page.

Link Checking:

The extension will automatically start scanning all links on the page.

Links will be color-coded:

  • Valid Links: The number of valid links that returned a 200 status code (e.g., 720). These links are highlighted in green.
  • Valid Redirect Links: The number of links that correctly redirect to another URL (e.g., 11). These links are highlighted in yellow-green.
  • Warnings: The number of links that may have issues but are not necessarily broken (e.g., 0). These links are highlighted in yellow.
  • Invalid Links: The number of broken links that returned a 404 or other error codes (e.g., 0). These links are highlighted in red.

 

Results Display:

  1. Results will be displayed in a sidebar on the right side of the browser window.
  2. You can see the list of broken links and their corresponding status codes.
  3. Clicking on a broken link in the sidebar will highlight the link directly on the web page.

 

Customization (Options Page):

Click on “Options” to open the options page where you can customize the behavior of the extension.

 

Here, you can set preferences such as excluding certain URLs, choosing the request method (GET or HEAD), enabling AutoCheck, and setting various warnings.

Options Page Features:

     1. Blacklist:

  • Enter URLs or parts of URLs to exclude certain links from being checked.
  • Each URL must be entered on a new line.

     2. Request Type:

  • Choose between GET and HEAD request methods for checking links.
  • GET is required for parsing the document for elements corresponding to hashtags.

     3. AutoCheck:

  • Enable this option to automatically check links when the URL of the current tab changes and the page is loaded.

     4. Warnings:

  • Enable warnings for different types of links, such as empty href attributes, missing href attributes, and trailing hashes.

     5. Valid Link Caching:

  • Enable this option to cache valid links, reducing the time taken to repeatedly check a page by only checking new or previously broken links.

     6. No follow Links:

  • Enable the option to check links with the rel=”nofollow” attribute.