# Test - unusual new way of linking to webistes.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-unusual-new-way-of-linking-to-webistes/233009>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [March 7, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-unusual-new-way-of-linking-to-webistes/233009 "2004-03-07T20:25:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-unusual-new-way-of-linking-to-webistes/233009/1 "2004-03-07T20:25:34Z")

</div>

[Virgin Digital Music downlaod](Virgin Megastores Digital Downloads.url)

The above url text isn’t a valid url, yet it takes me to the virgin digital download site when it comes up in the address bar. So I wondered if it would work in a vbscript link. Hence this thread.  
I will preview and test the link. If it works for me, can you click it and reply wether it worked for you?  
On preview it didn’t work, but by removing the ‘http://’ that vbulletin adds. it did work.

try pasting “Virgin Megastores Digital Downloads.url” into your address bar (without the quotes)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-unusual-new-way-of-linking-to-webistes/233009/2 "2004-03-07T20:29:05Z")

</div>

P.S. When I said it isn’t a valid url. That was before I found out that vbulletin adds the http bit (making it appear at least semi-valid, and me appear wrong)  
What I actually put in the url tag was “Virgin Megastores Digital Downloads.url” without the http bit. without the http it works. with it, it doesn.t

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-unusual-new-way-of-linking-to-webistes/233009/3 "2004-03-07T20:42:33Z")

</div>

> [@Lobsang](#):
>
> try pasting “Virgin Megastores Digital Downloads.url” into your address bar (without the quotes)

Did that. IE generated “[http://auto.search.msn.com/response.asp?MT=virgin+megastores+digital+downloads.url&srch=0&prov=&utf8](http://auto.search.msn.com/response.asp?MT=virgin+megastores+digital+downloads.url&srch=0&prov=&utf8)” for me, but “The page cannot displayed” came back.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-unusual-new-way-of-linking-to-webistes/233009/4 "2004-03-07T20:45:50Z")

</div>

I guess it only works on computers that have the site in their history then.

Oh well, no possible way to link to the damn site. Do they _want_ it to fail?!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-unusual-new-way-of-linking-to-webistes/233009/5 "2004-03-07T20:59:27Z")

</div>

That doesn’t look like a link from a website. It looks more like a Windows URL shortcut file (".url"). If you have that website in your bookmarks, that may be why it works for you.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-unusual-new-way-of-linking-to-webistes/233009/6 "2004-03-09T08:23:54Z")

</div>

Try [http://www.virgin.com/downloads](http://www.virgin.com/downloads)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-unusual-new-way-of-linking-to-webistes/233009/7 "2004-03-10T22:02:42Z")

</div>

> [@Kal](#):
>
> Try [Whoops. | Virgin](http://www.virgin.com/downloads)

Ah, that one works. Thanks.