How to Create an Alias#

An alias is a simple URL that points to a more complex, hard-to-remember URL. For instance, www.theday.com/sailfest is much easier to remember than the ‘real' URL for that page, which is www.theday.com/section/specialreports&Profile=1269.

To set an alias for a complex URL, you'll need to go to the edit interface at edit.theday.com/edit and log in. From the main menu along the top, select Admin > Alias:

FIG. 1 -- Go to 'Admin > Alias'.

You'll wind up on a pretty bare page. However, if you click the "Filter" button at the top of the page, you'll wind up a very long list of aliases. Do not edit or delete any of these.

To make sure the alias you want to use is not already in use, type your desired alias name into the "Filter" box. If it returns matching results, you'll need to change your alias to something else. For instance, if you want an alias called "election", but "election" is being used, you'll need to change it to something else, like "election2015". If no results are returned by your search/filtering, you're good to go.

FIG. 2 -- Check to see if your alias is available.

Add the alias by clicking "new Item" in the upper right corner. A pop-up window will appear; type your alias name, preceded by a backslash "/" — /election2015 — in the "Alias:" field, and the "real" URL in the "Redirect URL:" field. If the alias is for a page on theday.com, you can trim the first part of the URL, like so:

If the real URL is:

http://www.theday.com/section/specialreports&Profile=1269 

all you need is:

/section/specialreports&Profile=1269 

FIG. 3 -- Add the redirect URL.

Click save and then test your URL by visiting it in the browser to make sure it works.