Overview
The Broken Link Viewer tool in D2L Brightspace helps instructors identify and manage broken links within courses. It stores a continuously updated list of broken URLs, which are detected when users attempt to access non-existent pages or items. The tool verifies links in various elements such as text, images, plug-ins, and scripts. Instructors can view the number of broken links, the date of the last occurrence, and the location of the missing item. The tool allows filtering broken links by date ranges and provides options to delete them from the list, although manual fixing is still required.
Finding a Broken Link
The Broken Link tool is available from the Course Admin screen. When looking at the Broken Links tool, you'll see four columns: Linked From, Clicks, Target URL, and Latest Click. The 'Target URL' states what link is broken (what file is missing), and 'Linked From' tells you where is the link was located.
For example:
- Linked From: /d2l/home/7654321
- Target URL: /content/2024/7654321-20255000282M/IMG_3696.JPG
IMG_3696.JPG is referenced somewhere on the course homepage (/d2l/home/7654321). To find the link, navigate to the homepage and look for a broken image icon. If one cannot be found, right-click on the page and 'view source'. Then perform a search for the file name (IMG_3696.JPG). By looking at what is located around the image, you can hopefully determine the location of the file.
To remedy the broken link, ensure that the file is present in the named location, or update the link to reflect the current location.