Provide guidance on where to go
Use "see also" links and tours to help the reader find their way through a document.
Last modified: 10/3/98
Links are needed to tell the reader where to go next
Help the reader decide where to go next in the document with links. They need links to take them to related pages or to follow a particular train of thought. Until they know the overall structure of a document and some of its content, guidance from the author is helpful. When a reader finishes with a page, what to read next is not as clear in a linked document as it is with a paper document where you just turn the page. In a linear document the author provides guidance by ordering the pages; in a non-linear document, the author provides guidance with links.

There are a variety of types of these links
These links on a page include:
•   Next/previous on a sequence
•   "Back to..." links to return from a sub-topic
•   "Up" links to go from the specific to the more general
•   "See also" links for related topics
•   "More" links for additional, more detailed information on a topic
•   "Tour" links that proceed through a sequence of pages for a particular purpose in reading

Tours
Tours are different than normal sequences. Normal sequences (Next/Previous) are pages that are related structurally, like in an outline. For example, each of the five divisions of a company, or a list of options to pursue. Tours are a sequence of pages that are related when following a linear train of thought. For example: the pages to read in a Human Resource manual to introduce benefits to a new employee, or the pages to read in the event of an accident. Pages can be on any number of tours. Tours can be implemented in HTML with links in sidebars, or with Frames. The Trellix 2.0 product has them as a built-in feature, using a Frame-like interface. This web site uses tours in the Sample section.