Reference Links for Quick Access

Quick Access to Everything You Need

Reference links let you attach important URLs to your interviews—social profiles, research pages, product demos, articles—anything you might want to reference during your conversation.

[PLACEHOLDER: Screenshot of the links section in edit mode]

What Are Reference Links?

Reference links are URLs associated with your interview that you can:

  • Access instantly during Live Mode with the L hotkey
  • Search across your interview library
  • Share when exporting or collaborating

Think of them as bookmarks specifically for this interview.

Common Use Cases

Guest Information:

  • LinkedIn profile
  • Twitter/X account
  • Personal website
  • Company website

Research Materials:

  • Blog posts or articles they wrote
  • Interviews they've done
  • TED talks or presentations
  • Industry reports

Reference Content:

  • Products to discuss
  • Documentation to reference
  • Videos to mention
  • Resources to share with listeners

Adding Links

Manual Entry

  1. Open your interview in Edit mode
  2. Scroll to the Links section
  3. Click "Add Link"
  4. Enter the URL (e.g., https://linkedin.com/in/johndoe)
  5. (Optional) Enter a Name for easy identification
  6. Click "Save" or press Enter

The link is added to your list!

[PLACEHOLDER: Screenshot of adding a link]

Auto-Generated Names

If you don't provide a name, InterviewCue will:

  • Extract the domain name (e.g., "linkedin.com")
  • Or use the full URL if no better option

Pro tip: Add custom names for clarity:

  • ✅ "Sarah's LinkedIn Profile"
  • ✅ "Product Demo Video"
  • ❌ "linkedin.com"

URL Formats

InterviewCue accepts various URL formats:

✅ https://example.com - Full URL
✅ http://example.com - HTTP (upgraded to HTTPS if possible)
✅ example.com - Domain only (https:// added automatically)
✅ www.example.com - With www (normalized)

Automatic Link Extraction

InterviewCue automatically finds links in your questions and background notes!

How It Works

When you add or edit questions, InterviewCue scans for:

Markdown-style links:

Check out [Sarah's article](https://example.com/article)

Plain URLs:

Reference: https://example.com/research-paper

Domain-only mentions:

Visit example.com for more info

Discovered links are automatically added to your links list!

[PLACEHOLDER: Screenshot showing auto-extracted links with source indicator]

Controlling Auto-Extraction

Found links you don't want?

  1. Click the "Exclude Permanently" button next to the link
  2. The link is removed from this interview
  3. It won't be extracted from future imports either

This is perfect for removing repetitive boilerplate links like social media handles you mention in every interview.

Using Links During Interviews

Accessing Links in Live Mode

During your interview, press the L key to open the Quick Reference Links modal.

[PLACEHOLDER: Screenshot of links modal in Live Mode]

You'll see:

  • All your links in a searchable list
  • Click to open in a new tab
  • Search/filter to find specific links
  • Copy URL to clipboard

Close the modal: Press Esc or click outside

Adding Links in Real-Time

Discovered a resource mid-interview? Add it immediately!

  1. In Live Mode, press Shift + A (or click "Add Link")
  2. Enter the URL and optional name
  3. Press Enter

The link is saved and timestamped as an event in your timeline!

[PLACEHOLDER: Screenshot of add link modal during live interview]

This is perfect for:

  • Resources your guest mentions
  • Websites they reference
  • Articles to include in show notes
  • Follow-up material

Managing Your Links

Editing Links

  1. In Edit mode, find the link
  2. Click the "Edit" button (pencil icon)
  3. Update the URL or name
  4. Save

Deleting Links

  1. Click the "Delete" button (trash icon) next to the link
  2. Confirm deletion

Note: Deleted links are removed immediately.

Reordering Links

Links appear in the order they were added. Currently, you can't manually reorder them, but they're searchable in Live Mode, so the order matters less!

Excluding Unwanted Links

The Problem

If you mention the same boilerplate links in every interview (your podcast URL, social media, newsletter signup), auto-extraction can get noisy.

The Solution: Permanent Exclusion

  1. Find the unwanted link in your Links section
  2. Click "Exclude Permanently"
  3. The link is removed and won't be extracted again

User-specific: Your exclusions only affect your interviews, not other users.

Cross-interview: Once excluded, the URL won't be auto-extracted in any of your interviews.

[PLACEHOLDER: Screenshot showing the Exclude Permanently button]

Managing Exclusions

Want to see what you've excluded? Visit your Account Settings → Excluded Links to review and manage your exclusion list.

Links in Search

Links are fully searchable!

When you search your interview library, the search includes:

  • Link URLs
  • Link names
  • Domains

Example: Searching for "linkedin" finds all interviews with LinkedIn profile links.

This is powerful for finding interviews by:

  • Guest (search their website domain)
  • Topic (search for reference articles)
  • Company (search company domains)

Links in Exports

When you export your interview, links are included in several formats:

Markdown Export:

## Links
- [Sarah's LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchen)
- [GreenCircuit Website](https://greencircuit.com)

JSON Export:

{
  "links": [
    {
      "url": "https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchen",
      "name": "Sarah's LinkedIn",
      "added_date": "2025-11-17T10:30:00"
    }
  ]
}

Perfect for creating show notes or sharing with your team!

Links in Collaborative Mode

When you share your interview session with Collaborative Live Mode, participants can:

  • View all links - Everyone sees the reference links
  • Open links - Click to open in new tabs
  • Add links (Guests too!) - Even read-only guests can suggest resources

This is great for producers adding show notes references while you interview!

Best Practices

Organization

Be specific with names:

  • ✅ "Sarah's LinkedIn Profile"
  • ✅ "Product Launch Article (TechCrunch)"
  • ❌ "Link 1"

Add links during prep:

  • Guest social profiles
  • Their recent work
  • Background research
  • Topics you'll discuss

Don't over-add:

  • Only include links you might actually reference
  • Remove links you don't need

During Interviews

Quick reference:

  • Press L to see all links
  • Search if you have many
  • Keep the modal open if referencing multiple

Real-time additions:

  • Use Shift + A when guest mentions a resource
  • Add links to include in show notes
  • Capture everything for later

Post-Production

Show notes generation:

  • Export as Markdown
  • Links are formatted and ready
  • Include in episode description

Team sharing:

  • Links included when sharing timeline
  • Producers can access resources
  • Editor can find references

Link URL Normalization

InterviewCue normalizes URLs to avoid duplicates:

Normalized:

  • https://example.com ← Preferred format
  • http://example.com → https://example.com
  • www.example.com → example.com
  • example.com/ → example.com

This means slight variations in how you enter URLs won't create duplicates.

Tips and Tricks

Pronunciation Guides

Add a link named "Guest Name Pronunciation" with a URL to their name pronunciation guide or audio.

Social Media Bundles

For each guest, add their main social profiles:

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter/X
  • Instagram (if relevant)
  • Company site

Episode Resources

Create a section in your notes with links to:

  • Products discussed
  • Books mentioned
  • Tools referenced
  • Articles cited

Quick Access Workflows

Before interview: Open all guest social profiles in tabs so you can reference them quickly.

During interview: Use L to quickly look up info without breaking flow.

After interview: Export links for show notes creation.

Limitations and Future Features

Current Limitations

  • Can't manually reorder links (but search helps!)
  • Can't categorize or tag links
  • Can't attach links to specific questions (they're interview-level)

Coming Soon

We're considering:

  • Link categories/tags
  • Question-specific links
  • Link validation (check for dead links)
  • Bulk link import
  • Link templates for common interview types

Quick Reference

Task How To
Add link (Edit mode) Click "Add Link" button
Add link (Live mode) Press Shift + A
View links (Live mode) Press L
Edit link Click "Edit" (pencil icon)
Delete link Click "Delete" (trash icon)
Exclude permanently Click "Exclude Permanently"
Close links modal Press Esc or click outside

What's Next?

Now that you know how to manage reference links, learn about conducting the actual interview:

Links keep you organized and focused—use them! 🔗