UT Shield

URL Path Address

Last Updated January 2025

Drupal pages all have a numerical node value and can be reached with the URL path address of http://[site-root]/node/#
However, human readable URLs are preferred.

A Web URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is an Internet address, for example, http://www.utexas.edu/. The URL usually consisting of:

  • the access protocol – http,
  • the domain name – www.utexas.edu, and
  • optionally the path to a file or resource residing on that website.

On this page:

Take special care if you need to change a URL path addresses after content is already “live”.

Automatic URL Alias

When a page is created the site will create a human readable URL alias for you. The pattern for the alias is based on several things:

  •  type of content  Content Types
  • the original Title  Title
    (If you change the Title in a subsequent edit of the page, the alias will not change)
  • the menu label Menu Link
  • where the page is in the site navigation Menu Location

Typical Patterns

  • Flex Page: navigation path/menu title
  • News: news/page title
  • Event: events/page title

Examples

  • A Flex Page with the Menu Link Title “Fees” that is a third level menu item under About and Parking:
    http://[site-root]/about/parking/fees
  • A News item with the page Title “My News Item”:
    http://[site-root]/news/my-news-item

Custom URL Alias

Content Administrators can override the default alias. Use this feature strategically and thoughtfully. Avoid changing URL paths for content that already is published.  Contact the college Web team if you have questions.

In the right-hand column under URL Alias, un-check the “Generate automatic URL alias” check-box and type the value you want into the URL alias field.

URL alias

Common Reasons for a custom address

  • You may need a short URL to use on print publications or to otherwise share.
  • You may be rebuilding your website and want to map the current URL to the new URL so that browser bookmarks do not break when the root of the URL is mapped to the new site.
  • You may have accidentally created a duplicate page and need to remove the version number, a dash followed by a number (-#), automatically added by Drupal.
  • You discover a  misspelling or inaccuracy in the Title that is reflected in the Automatic URL Alias.