Text Menu

Anchors may be only slightly set apart from the main text, to fade into the background subtly and yet still be noticed--almost on the basis of that subtlety rather than standard. Slight changes in color, font-type, font-face, or font-size allow the reader to take a small note of the anchor without being distracted from the non-anchoral content. These subtler designs guide the reader to finding the link, yet tone down the importance of the link in the overall reading.

Calming and gentle

~water ~water ~water ~ [59] and In the Changing Room [8] provide very slight variations in the text, both to promote a gentle voice for the reading that tones down the intrusion of the anchor's presentation of a reader choice. Reagan Library's [47] textual links are merely indicated with the same color underline, which reinforces the calm, almost liquid, tone of the main selectively animated anchor. Yet all of these works break the calming spell when the reader hovers over the links, as the "hotlink" turns red.

Integrated into the overall look

Modest decorations can be a variation on a theme, such as The Pines at Walden Pond [39] (green links with green text) or part of the overall graphical characteristics, as Him's [9] modest anchors (merely grey radio buttons on the side of a grey box) contribute to the austere and structured look.

There are further hues of modesty, where works that usually employ moderate or standard decoration schemas sometimes drop into a more suble key: The Unknown [56] occasionally uses a mere underline to indicate its links, taking a break from the dense anchor filled embedded text.

Subtle hints

The Ballad of Sand and Harry Soot [61] provides a subtle navigation bar at the bottom, a nearly hidden tool that gently reminds the reader of two other navigational strategies: a random strategy where all of the pages are represented by small grey 0s at the bottom of the black screen, and turn white when clicked, and the metanavigation to return home, get directions, etc.