Formatting links in Splunk documentation

Create cross-references to Splunk documentation or external websites to connect readers to materials that are necessary for them to accomplish their goals.

Before you include links in your documentation, follow the best practices for linking guidance and determine whether to include your links inline or in a section at the end of your topic:

• Best practices for including links
• Best practices for linking to third-party websites

Go to the corresponding section for formatting details and examples of the type of link you want to include:

• A location within your topic
• A different Splunk documentation topic
• An external website

A location within your topic

Use a local link to direct readers to a different section within the same topic. The following table shows examples of local links:

Link type	Include this information	Example
A link to a task step in the same procedure	You can link to specific task steps only in a structured authoring environment. Link to the task step you want the user to refer to. Use the numbered step as the display text.	If you already completed this step, proceed to step 4.
A link to a subheading on the same page	Link to the section you want the user to proceed to. Use the section name as the display text.	See Data sources in the following section.

A different Splunk documentation topic

Use a link to a file to point to Splunk documentation. The following table shows examples of links to Splunk documentation:

Link type	Include this information	Example
The main page for a documentation set	Use the landing page name as the display text.	For information about Splunk Observability, see the Splunk Observability documentation.
To a topic	Use the page name as the display text.	To learn about configuring timestamps, see Configure timestamps.
To a subheading in a different topic	Don't create links to subheadings in a different topic. Instead, link to the top-level heading of a topic. See the previous row for an example.	N/A
To a table	Whenever possible, consider reusing a table in a topic rather than sending a reader away to view it. If a table is too long to reuse, link to the top-level heading of the topic.	Review the Splunk products version compatibility matrix.
To a downloadable file	Add a link to the file the user must download, such as a dataset file. Use the file name as the display text.	Download the tutorialdata.zip file.

An external website

Use an external link to point to a website or documents hosted on external Splunk and third-party websites. The following table shows examples of external links:

Link type	Include this information	Example
Code repository	Use the repository name as the display text and mention the website name.	Install the fluent-plugin-systemd plugin for systemd journal log collection on GitHub.
Download	Use the page name as the display text and mention the website name when appropriate	Download Splunk Enterprise from Free Trials and Downloads on the Splunk website. Download the Splunk Add-on for Microsoft Cloud Services from Splunkbase.
Splexicon entry	Link only to Splunk-specific terms that your audience might be unfamiliar with, and include the link at the first instance of the term you want to define.	The universal forwarder collects data from a data source or another forwarder and sends it to a different forwarder or a deployment.
Splunk Answers, Splunk Blogs, the Splunk Community, Splunk Lantern	Use the page name as the display text and mention the website name.	See Questions related to All Apps and Add-ons on Splunk Answers. See the Splunk Blogs post Data Sherlock: The Change of Perspective. See Enhanced navigation with a modern look and feel in the Splunk Community. Read use cases from Splunk platform experts in the Splunk Lantern Customer Success Center.
Splunk Developer Portal	Use the page name as the display text and mention the website name.	See Develop apps and add-ons for Splunk Enterprise on the Splunk Developer Portal.
A Splunk product UI	Use the page name as the display text, describe whether the link is to a guided setup or page, and mention the product. Then, include the steps a user can take to navigate to the page on their own.	Log in to Splunk Observability Cloud. Open the Amazon Web Services guided setup in Splunk Observability Cloud. Optionally, you can manually navigate to the Amazon Web Services guided setup: On the left navigation menu, select Data Management. Select Add Integration to open the Integrate Your Data page. On the Integrate Your Data page, select the tile for Amazon Web Services.
Splunk Support Portal	Use the page name as the display text.	To file a ticket on the Splunk Support Portal, see the Splunk Support Portal. If you have a support contract, file a case using the Splunk Support Portal. See the Splunk Support Portal.
Splunk video	Use the video name as the display text and add a brief description of the video.	Watch this Splunk Education video, Creating a Custom Search Command with the Python SDK, to see how custom search commands work and build an example using the Splunk Python SDK.
Third-party website	If your link is essential, expose the URL to the third-party page. If the link isn't essential, provide search terms so a user can find the information on their own. To determine whether your link is an essential or supplemental link, see Best practices for linking to third-party websites.	Create a Splunk On-Call webhook by following the steps in the https://help.victorops.com/knowledge-base/rest-endpoint-integration-guide. For more details, search "Connecting to WMI Remotely Starting with Vista" on the Microsoft website.