Links in Constellation typically come in two forms. The first style includes links that are embedded inline with surrounding static text or paragraph. These links are colored blue and display an underline by default.

The second style consists of standalone links, which are commonly used for work object references in tables, Pulse, Insights, and various worklists. These links are also colored blue by default but do not display an underline.

Design choice and reasoning

The decision to omit underlines from standalone links was made to reduce visual clutter on the user interface. Standalone links often appear in repeating structures such as tables or lists, where numerous links may be present on a single page. Displaying underlines for each link in these contexts can make the interface appear crowded and hinder readability.

However, to address concerns of using color alone as a differentiator for these links, Pega makes use of the WCAG technique of introducing additional cues on hover to distinguish from what may be perceived as static text. When a user hovers one of these links with the mouse, an underline will appear below the link similar to how in-line links appear.

Additionally, a visible focus border is provided when focusing any link with the keyboard. These design choices satisfy WCAG Success Criteria 1.4.1 Use of Color by ensuring links can be differentiated from static text by means other than color alone.