---
title: "Link handling"
manual: "TYPO3 Explained"
version: "14.3"
permalink: "https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:linkhandling@14.3"
source: "ApiOverview/LinkHandling/Index.rst"
rendered: "2026-10-01T15:20:05+00:00"
---
# Link handling {#linkhandling}
Links entered in the backend in TYPO3 are stored in an internal format in the
database.
For example, a link to the page with uid 42 is stored in a backend field as
`t3://page?uid=42` and in the rich-text editor (RTE) as
`test`.
Such links must be converted before they are output as HTML in the frontend. For
example, in [Fluid](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:fluid@14.3) all input from the RTE should be output by the
ViewHelper
[f:format.html ViewHelper](https://docs.typo3.org/other/typo3/view-helper-reference/14.3/en-us/Global/Format/Html.html#typo3-fluid-format-html):
**EXT:my_extension/Resources/Private/Templates/MyTemplate.fluid.html**
```html
{myContent.bodytext}
```
Links provided in backend fields like the `header_link` can be used as
input in the ViewHelper
[f:link.typolink ViewHelper](https://docs.typo3.org/other/typo3/view-helper-reference/14.3/en-us/Global/Link/Typolink.html#typo3-fluid-link-typolink):
**EXT:my_extension/Resources/Private/Templates/MyTemplate.fluid.html**
```html
{myContent.header_link}
```
In TypoScript, RTE content can be converted by the function
[parseFunc](https://docs.typo3.org/m/typo3/reference-typoscript/14.3/en-us/Functions/Parsefunc.html#parsefunc), link fields can be converted into HTML by
the function [typolink](https://docs.typo3.org/m/typo3/reference-typoscript/14.3/en-us/Functions/Typolink.html#typolink).
In PHP context links are usually stored in an array format. Each link type is
handled by a [Core link handler](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:core-link-handler@14.3) which maps between
different formats.
To generate links from PHP, use the [frontend link factory](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:link-factory@14.3).
The [link browser](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:linkbrowser-api@14.3) is the modal in which users can
configure links in both the [Rich text editors (RTE)](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:rte@14.3) and the
[FormEngine](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:formengine@14.3). The link browser offers tabs for the different
types of links like page, external, file, email, phone record and possibly more.
Each tab of the link browser has an associated
[backend link handler](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:linkhandler@14.3) that renders the tab and handles
editing links. The link browser can be extended by
[custom links to different record types](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:tablerecordlinkbrowsertutorials@14.3)
and [custom link handler implementations](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:tutorial-github-link-handler@14.3).
**Contents:**
- [Link handler configuration](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:link-handler-configuration-1@14.3)
- [LinkBrowser API](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:linkbrowser-api-1@14.3)
- [The LinkHandler API](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:the-linkhandler-api@14.3)
- [The PageLinkHandler](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:the-pagelinkhandler@14.3)
- [The RecordLinkHandler](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:the-recordlinkhandler@14.3)
- [Implementing a custom LinkHandler](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:implementing-a-custom-linkhandler@14.3)
- [Events to modify link handler](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:events-to-modify-link-handler@14.3)
- [Core link handler](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:core-link-handler-1@14.3)
- [Link factory](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:frontend-link-factory@14.3)
- [Frontend link builder](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:frontend-link-builder@14.3)
- [LinkBrowser tutorials](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:linkbrowser-tutorials@14.3)
- [Browse records of a table](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:browse-records-of-a-table@14.3)
- [Create a custom link browser](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:create-a-custom-link-browser@14.3)