Review and find Broken Links in D2L Brightspace

Summary

How do I find broken links within my D2L Brightspace course? How do I use the Broken Links viewer tool?

Body

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.

Details

Details

Article ID: 305
Created
Tue 6/17/25 12:06 PM
Modified
Tue 6/17/25 12:06 PM
Application Software
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LMS - D2L Brightspace
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Related Services / Offerings

Related Services / Offerings (1)

The online learning platform for Minnesota State. D2L Brightspace is the product, which includes third-party integrations with Minnesota State enterprise systems.