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I seem to remember that a browser can be configured via a setting to control what happens when a pdf url is clicked. I think the options are something like "Open in new page" or "Open as file". I haven't checked or tested this lately but maybe this was configurable behavior in IE 10+ years ago. Is this a standard configuration option in most modern browsers?

A stakeholder from the business wants me to include a url on a web page that says "Download Methodology" which points to a Methodology.pdf. This would just be a single pdf url on a page. It wouldn't be 1 of many pdfs in a pdf download section.

Would it be better to just include a url on the page that says Methodology.pdf? If the browser is configured to download a pdf when clicked then the browser will download the pdf. Otherwise, the browser will simply open a new window with the pdf where the user can either read the pdf or click a button to download it.

Also, the business person wants "Download Methodology" to wrap on 2 lines. Are there any rules in ux which specify that a url should display on a single line instead of wrapping?

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  • As this question contains multiple parts, I'm not going flag this as duplicate: ux.stackexchange.com/questions/38574/…
    – locationunknown
    Mar 29, 2017 at 5:58
  • if you can elaborate a bit with a mock up suggesting the location of the link, a typical layout of your page will help in understanding why your stakeholder wants the link wrapped in 2 lines.
    – Prashant Dubey
    Mar 29, 2017 at 7:29

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There are no rules in UX that limit you to keep the URLs in single line, unless they can't fit into the available space, but make sure it doesn't become too long that would make users avoid it completely. For the simple link that reads Download Methodology it would best to keep it in single line because that will be easy for the users to read and act upon.

As I was looking for some standard rules I came across to this wonderful presentation I recommend you to go through it:

The UX of URLs:
http://blog.rnf.me/ux-of-urls/#/

https://www.slideshare.net/rfreebern/the-ux-of-urls

“[S]earchers are particularly interested in the URL when they are assessing the credibility of a destination. If the URL looks like garbage, people are less likely to click on that search hit. On the other hand, if the URL looks like the page will address the user's question, they are more likely to click.” Jakob Nielsen, 2007

“[L]ong strings of characters that exist only to satisfy some technical constraint, detracting from the effectiveness of our URLs as communication tools.” Jesse James Garrett, 2002

Look around on this site, the Related section - most of the URLs are wrapped to second line -

enter image description here

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