Joe, I understand about copying the URL (shortcut) and pasting it into HTML link syntax but I was looking for a way that a technophobe or neo-Luddite could use. It may be possible to simply type the desired chord into our posts and generate links to diagrams. I looked at the URL you posted and offer (no pun intended) the following analysis.

The URL is http://www.lib.virginia.edu/clembin/gtr.pl?show=D:m:Dm:X/-:1/1:3/3:3/4:2/2:1/1:1-2-6:5

This is really an invocation of a Perl script on the remote host followed by a parameter list for generating a chord diagram. If you follow the parameters you'll see that:

The colon (:) is used as a delimeter.
"D" is the root of the chord.
"m" indicates a variant to the root, in this case minor.
"Dm" is the text label for the diagram.

The next six parameters describe each string of the guitar from the bass E to the treble. Each parameter is of the form string/finger; so X/- means the string is not played and there is no finger, 1/1 means the string is stopped at the first fret using the first finger and so on.

The 1-2-6 parameter expresses the barre. From checking other patterns it looks as though the 2-6 part indicates that the barre includes strings 2 through 6 (bass to treble) though I'm still not certain what the leading 1- means in the parameter. If a chord has no barre, this parameter contains a single minus sign.

The final parameter, 5, is the lowest fret containing any part of the chord.

If I'm right, I should be able to type in a chord without needing to go the the dictionary site and look it up. Let's say we wanted a diagram of the "funny" C7 chord that M.Ted and I were discussing in another thread. To type this in directly I'd need, in addition to the standard HTML link syntax:

http://www.lib.virginia.edu/clembin/gtr.pl?show=
C (the root chord)
:7 (indication of the added dominant seventh)
:C7 (the text description)
:3/T (bass string 3rd fret with thumb - hope this works)
:X/- (A string not played - the usual case)
:2/2 (D string 2nd fret 2nd finger)
:3/3 (G string 3rd fret 3rd finger)
:1/1 (B string 1st fret 1st finger)
:3/4 (E string 3rd fret 4th finger)
:- (no barre)
:1 (chord begins at 1st fret)

Okay now let's see how brave I am. If I'm correct, you can click the funny C7 text to see and (I hope) hear the subject chord.

- Mark