"visited hyperlink" vs. "followed hyperlink"

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ChrisGreaves
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"visited hyperlink" vs. "followed hyperlink"

Post by ChrisGreaves »

Whats the difference between a "visited hyperlink"and a "followed hyperlink"?
A quick Google search returns essays on how to colour hyperlinks, but nothing I can see on why I'd want to distinguish between these two types.
To my simple mind, a hyperlink that I've followed is, by definition, one that I've visited.

Please, and Thank You in advance
(Because I'm going away for two days ...)
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HansV
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Re: "visited hyperlink" vs. "followed hyperlink"

Post by HansV »

The terms are used interchangeably - they mean exactly the same thing.
Best wishes,
Hans

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ChrisGreaves
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Re: "visited hyperlink" vs. "followed hyperlink"

Post by ChrisGreaves »

HansV wrote:The terms are used interchangeably - they mean exactly the same thing.
Thanks Hans.
It's comforting to know that as I set off down the highway this morning my mind is not dissociated from my body (grin!).

I did a few more searches and get the general impression that HTML-people use "visited" whereas source people (DOC, PPT, MDB etc) use "followed".
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Jezza
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Re: "visited hyperlink" vs. "followed hyperlink"

Post by Jezza »

In CSS there are 4 types of Anchor pseudo-class which are:

a:link /* unvisited link */
a:visited /* visited link */
a:hover /* mouse over link */
a:active /* selected link */

If creating a CSS or style to the HTML they have to be in this order for the styling to work correctly.
Jerry
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: "visited hyperlink" vs. "followed hyperlink"

Post by ChrisGreaves »

Jezza wrote:... they have to be in this order for the styling to work correctly.
Thanks Jezza, I was going to ask you what happens when they don't "work correctly", but figured you were probably out jogging, so I went and did some digging myself:

every selector has a specificity
"Since three of the above rules apply to the hyperlink, and the selectors all have the same specificity, then the last one listed wins"
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Sundog
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Re: "visited hyperlink" vs. "followed hyperlink"

Post by Sundog »

Good stuff! Thanks to Jezza and Chris for digging these explanations up.
Sundog