Since the Technology Help website (it.umn.edu) is hosted in Drupal, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of how URLs work in Drupal so you know what to expect.
In this article:
- Node Numbers
- Human-Readable URLs
- Automatic Redirect When Page Titles Change
- URL Patterns for the Technology Help Website
Node Numbers
Every page (a.k.aa node) in a Drupal website is initially assigned a unique node number when they are created.
For example, when you create the first page on the "example.umn.edu" Drupal site, the URL will be example.umn.edu/node/1.
Human-Readable URLs
In addition to node numbers, Drupal assigns a human-readable URL to each node, called an alias. The default alias pattern for URLs on UMN Drupal sites is the site name plus each word in the title of the page (not including articles like "and") separated by hyphens. If the title is very long, the URL will include words up to a certain number of characters.
For example, if you create a page on the "example.umn.edu" Drupal site with the title "Manage Content and Images," the human-readable URL would be https://example.umn.edu/manage-content-images.
Automatic Redirects When Page Titles Change
Since the human-readable URL is based on the title of the page, if a content editor changes the title of the page the human-readable URL will also change. To help get users to the correct page, Drupal will automatically create a redirect from the original human-readable URL to the new one.
URL Patterns for the Technology Help Website
In the Technology Help website, we have defined URL patterns for the various content types on the website. The patterns are as follows:
|
LABEL |
PATTERN |
EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|
|
Blog Article |
[node:field_blog_categories]/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/scam-examples-security-advisories/example-248-fake-payment-receipts |
|
Comparison |
services-technologies/comparisons/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/comparisons/compare-video-recording-tools |
|
Course |
training-events/training/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/training-events/training/canvas-gradebook-set |
|
Event |
training-events/events/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/training-events/events/virtual-canvas-clinic-spring-2022 |
|
Experts & Communities |
experts-communities/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/experts-communities/technology-advisory-council |
|
Explore Pages |
services-technologies/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/use-technology-courses |
|
General Page |
[node:field_site_section:entity:name]/[node:field_parent_link:title]/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/planned-changes/outgoing-email-requirement-dmarc |
|
Knowledge Articles |
services-technologies/how-tos/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/how-tos/proofpoint-set-your-account |
|
Location |
services-technologies/locations/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/locations/public-computer-lab-walter-library-103 |
|
News |
news-alerts/news/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/news-alerts/news/linkedin-learning-contract-expiration |
|
Resource Page |
services-technologies/[node:field_resource_type:entity:name]/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/good-practices/canvas-set-expectations-student-course |
|
Self-Help Guide Page |
services-technologies/self-help-guides/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/self-help-guides/teamdynamix-tdx-work-tickets |
|
Service |
services-technologies/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/zoom-rooms-service |
|
Software |
services-technologies/resources/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/resources/visio |
|
Staff |
experts-communities/experts/[node:title] |
https://it.umn.edu/experts-communities/experts/neha-bansal |