15.1. Using `linkType` to implement link navigation
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### 15.1. Using `linkType` to implement link navigation

The user can navigate from a link source to the link target and the other way round by using the items of menu Select → Link and also the equivalent toolbar buttons.

These menu items and these toolbar buttons are always operative whether a `linkType` confirguration element has been defined or not. The reason is, when no `linkType` element is found in a configuration file, XXE will behave as if the following one was defined:

    <linkType>
      <class>com.xmlmind.xmleditapp.linktype.IDLinkType</class>
    </linkType>

Note that during the link navigation, XXE may have to open the document containing the destination. When this is the case, the user is prompted to confirm that she/he really wants to open this document and whether she/he wants to open it in read-only mode or in normal, read-write, mode.

This works because command `XXE.edit` in XMLmind XML Editor - Commands also allows to select a link target or a link source. In order to do that, `XXE.edit` is passed an URL ending with a proprietary XPointer leveraging the link type of the destination. Examples of such proprietary XPointers:

- Open file `book.xml` and select the element having "`introduction`" as its anchor name. The searched anchor "`introduction`" belongs to the link type called "`default`".

      book.xml#xmlns(l=urn:xxe:link)l:anchor(introduction)

- Same but the searched anchor "`978-3-16-148410-0`" belongs to the link type called "`ISBN`".

      book.xml#xmlns(l=urn:xxe:link)l:anchor(978-3-16-148410-0%20ISBN)

- Open file `introduction.dita` and select the element acting as a link pointing to "`concepts.dita#concepts/collection`". The searched anchor "`concepts/collection`" belongs to the link type called "`default`".

      introduction.dita#xmlns(l=urn:xxe:link)l:link(concepts.dita%20concepts/collection)

- Open file `chapter2.xml` and select the element acting as a link pointing to "`reference`". The searched anchor "`reference`" belongs to the link type called "`default`".

      chapter2.xml#xmlns(l=urn:xxe:link)l:link(%20reference)

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