Joomla! Documentation™

• Key Reference. Optional text key that an Article may be referenced by (for example, a help reference). A normal Joomla! link to an Article is in the form "<home URL>/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=34". In this example, Joomla! is using the "com_content" component, using an "article" layout, showing the Article whose ID is "22", and using the Menu Item whose ItemID is "34". The Key Reference of an Article can be used in a URL instead of the Article's ID. For example, if an Article's Key Reference is "whats.new", then the URL "<home URL>/index.php/?option=com_content&view=article&Itemid=34&task=findkey&keyref=whats.new" could also be used to display the page. The "task=findkey" tells Joomla! to search by Key Reference, and the "keyref=whats.new" provides the Key Reference to search for. Using the Key Reference to link to Articles is more flexible than using Article ID, since you can edit the Key Reference field of existing Articles. Note that, if more than one Article has the same Key Reference, this URL will only find the first Article with this Key Reference.