Box 1Example of an identity file

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE Provider PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD LinkOut 1.0//EN" "LinkOut.dtd">
<Provider>
    <ProviderId>777</ProviderId>
    <Name>WebDatabase Co.</Name>
    <NameAbbr>WebDB</NameAbbr>
    <SubjectType>gene/protein/disease-specific</SubjectType>
    <Attribute>registration required</Attribute>
    <Url>http://www.webdatabase.com</Url>
    <IconUrl>http://www.webdatabase.com/images/webdb.gif</IconUrl>
    <Brief>On-line publisher of biomedical databases and other Web resources</Brief>
</Provider>

Identity File Elements

Provider: root element of the identity file.

ProviderId: unique ID assigned by NCBI.

Name: full name of the resource provider.

NameAbbr: short, one-word name of the provider assigned by NCBI. May only include alpha and numeric characters; spaces and special characters such as hyphens are not allowed.

SubjectType, Attribute: descriptions of the resources and relationship of the provider to the resources listed in the resource file. SubjectType and Attribute values appearing in the identity file will apply to all of the resources listed by that provider.

Url: URL of the provider's Web site, used in the LinkOut Providers list in Cubby.

IconUrl: logo of the provider, used to display the link from Entrez records.

Brief: short (up to 256 characters) description of the provider.

From: Chapter 17, LinkOut: Linking to External Resources from Entrez Databases

Cover of The NCBI Handbook
The NCBI Handbook [Internet].
McEntyre J, Ostell J, editors.
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