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This article describes the GO service and includes information on how to use GO shortcuts (also known as GO links) and how to create a new GO shortcut.
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Visit go.middlebury.edu (go.miis.edu for MIIS) to see the GOtionary, an alphabetical list of all registered shortcuts (also known as go links). Here, you can explore available shortcuts or create your own.
If you'd like to visit a GO shortcut directly, enter it into the address bar of your web browser (importantly, NOT the same as the Search Bar in Google, etc.).
For example, entering "go.middlebury.edu/helpdesk" in the address bar will bring you to the Tech Helpdesk page. If you are on the MiddleburyCollege network or Middlebury VPN, you can use shortened GO links, i.e. without including "middlebury.edu" or "miis.edu" in the URL. See our article about shortening to go/ while on campus for more information.
Try these:
Note the extra / at the end of the shortened go links — this is necessary for the shortened links to work.
The shortened links ( go/_/ ) only work on the MiddleburyCollege network or VPN, while the longer links ( go.middlebury.edu/_ ) will work on any network. For MIIS go links, substitute middlebury.edu for miis.edu.
GO is an aliasing and redirection application. An alias is an assumed name, or a false name, that conceals a true name. In this way, GO shortcuts provide an assumed name for a URL. This "false" name is normally something short and easy to remember, in place of the "real" name that may be long and more difficult to recall. Hence, they are often called "GO shortcuts". When the web server encounters "go.middlebury.edu/XX" in the address bar (where XX is a go shortcut), it checks the Middlebury GO database for a corresponding "real" name, then redirects the user there.
GO can also be called a "permalink" application. Even if content is moved to a new URL—for example, "http://www.middlebury.edu/documentation/" is moved to "http://support.gmhec.org/documentation/"—if the GO shortcut "go.middlebury.edu/documentation" is updated, any links using go.middlebury.edu/documentation will point to the new location. There is no need to change the link go.middlebury.edu/documentation as long as it's destination is updated, and therefore it can be considered a permanent link.
GO is great for making short, easy to remember links to resources, to be used in print media or simply for convenience. If you use a GO shortcut in your magazine, poster, or sidewalk chalk, you don't need to worry that the link will break if you need to move the site to a new URL.
Additionally, you'll want to use a GO shortcut rather than a direct link for any resources you are linking to that could change location. As long as the shortcut admin updates the shortcut when content location changes, you won't need to update any of your links.
GO has become central to the web infrastructure of the institution since its launch. It eased the launch of new sites by allowing links in content to be easily updated in one place.
If you can't find the shortcut you're looking for, you can create your own. It's easy! Follow the steps below, referring to the additional details if needed:
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Go to https://go.middlebury.edu.
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Click on the "self-service shortcut creation interface" link located toward the top of the page.
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The Middlebury College Microsoft login page will appear. Log in with your username and password.
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Click on the Create button.
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Enter the name of the Shortcut you want to create.
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Open another tab on your browser and go to the page you want to link. Copy the URL in your clipboard—highlight the entire link (CTRL+A) then copy (CTRL+C).
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Paste the captured URL into the URL field (CTRL+V).
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Select whether the shortcut is for the College (middlebury.edu) or the Institute (miis.edu).
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Enter the Description for the go shortcut, add as many Aliases (shortcut alternatives) as you want, and add any other Admins (people who can make changes to the shortcut).
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Click the Create Shortcut button.
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Shortcut - the name of the new GO shortcut
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URL - the destination for your shortcut
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Institution radio buttons - The GO application works on middlebury.edu and miis.edu—you can create your shortcut for either site by clicking the appropriate radio button
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Description - an explanation of why the shortcut was made and where it goes
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Aliases - These are alternate shortcut names that take you to the same URL. For example, perhaps go/documentation is more descriptive but go/doc is easier to type. If go/doc is not being used for something else you could make it an alias of go/documentation. Now both go/documentation and go/doc will take you to the target URL.
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Admins - As the creator of a GO shortcut, you are also its admin. This means you can change the shortcut, add or remove aliases and admins from the shortcut, and delete the shortcut. Since you can add multiple admins when creating your GO shortcut, for each one you must "Add Admin" before submitting.
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The value for the Admin field should be the first part of the person's Middlebury email address, before the "@" symbol. Admins must be individuals (not groups) with Middlebury accounts.
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Being an admin means you should take some responsibility for keeping the shortcut up to date. Perhaps you are part of a group and you'd like anyone in the group to be able to update the shortcut in case the URL changes. Simply add each user name here.