#  System - External Link Warning Documentation 

 

- Extension Page: [System - External Link Warning](/software/joomla/plugins/system-externallinkwarning)

## Overview

External Link Warning plugin triggers a Javascript alert when a user clicks a link to another domain, warning that the user is about to follow a link outside of this website.

## Installation

1. Download External Link Warning from the RicheyWeb download page. 
    - This page will remain unlinked, as the link may change in the future. Visit http://www.richeyweb.com and use the search feature - search for "External Link Warning".
2. In Joomla /administrator, go to the "Extensions" menu, the "Manage" sub-menu, and the "Install" sub-menu.
3. Select the "Upload Package File" tab
4. Press the "Choose File" button to browse your system and locate the plugin file you downloaded
5. Press the "Upload & Install" button
6. Pro subscribers can optionally install the Download ID plugin to enable automatic updates.
 
At this point, the extension is installed but not enabled. You can find the plugin by going to the Extensions menu and selecting "Plugins". When in the plugin manager, search for "External Link Warning".

 

## Configuration

The free version has no configurations other than to enable/disable the plugin. All outbound links trigger the warning. Users who need more control can subscribe to the Pro version.

Configuration of the Pro plugin consists of choosing what constitutes an external link, and what to do with that link when found. This is accomplished with the 4 configuration options.

1. Exclude Domains: 
    - Enter one or more domains to ignore when searching for external links. Any link found for these domains is ignored.
    - This configuration is useful for linking trusted domains.
2. Exclude Classes: 
    - Enter one or more CSS classes to ignore when searching for external links. Any link found with these tags is ignored.
    - This configuration is useful for excluding widgets with known/predictable CSS classes.
3. Mark Links: 
    - Default: No
    - Setting this to "Yes" enables the next two configuration settings.
4. Mark Classes: 
    - CSS Class(es) added to external links
 
It is possible to change the link warning by creating a language override. This is accomplished through the Language Override manager in /administrator.

The override constant is:

- PLG\_SYSTEM\_EXTERNALLINKWARNING\_WARNING\_MESSAGE
 
 

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